Willowspeak Village

"....the plus side, we have blue skies, green grasses and all the deadly thing's around the place make for great trading material." I would hope so, thought Micheal as he overheard the conversation from atop his stage coach. The two donkeys pulled the modest contraption along the cobbled street at a relaxed pace, their fatigue showing through the slowing rate of the clopping of hoof against stone. It had been a long journey from the last village. And just for some 'damned' candles. Michael would have to find a barn of some kind soon so he could put the poor beasts up in a nice stall. Spotting what looked to be an inn where he could get directions, Michael pulled the reigns back slightly to stop the animals as there was little to no traffic that would be impeded.

"Once that lot get back we'll be able to head out, I know the mountains pretty well so I'll just say watch your back. This village is at a point in the world were Frost Troll's, Death Maw's and Ice Golems are common place.” Michael paused for a moment as he lowered himself down the side of the driver's seat, stopping after hearing 'Troll' and then getting the slight urge to climb back up and keep going when he heard 'Death Maw.' Who the hell says something like that so nonchalantly? Resisting the urge to clamber back up, remembering he probably wouldn't have to deal with something so frightening on a business trip, he lowered himself the rest of the way down and adjusted his greatcoat, slightly shaken but by no means deterred.

“On the plus side, we have blue skies, green grasses and all the deadly thing's around the place make for great trading material." He opened the door to the coach and removed a small coin purse, smiling at the idea of good trading. Frost Troll blood could be useful. Whatever a Death Maw is might have some impressive teeth, maybe a corrosive poison that could be adapted into a cleaning liquid. Ice Golem... maybe there's an animation core that could be recycled into something, unless its some violent poltergeist has possessed a few boulders or something. See Michael, it's not so bad here. Bit nippy, though.

"What brings you here anyway?, if it's Aisha's candles like Allan guessed then luckily for you the herb were going for is what Aisha needs to make some more, all her's died somehow." Michael paused for a moment and only one word crossed his mind. Loudly and drawn out, more a wail than a statement. Shit! He turned to the speaker. For half a moment Michael was impressed with the size of the man who sat there rubbing at his own eye with a great fist, but he was too annoyed to care for more than that.

“Excuse me. Larger gentleman with the sword, you wouldn't happen to be referring to those floating candles, would you?” He spoke slowly and loudly so as to not bother walking the ten feet between him and the larger man, adding emphasis to 'floating' by waving his fingers in the air. Sure of his fears, the query was asked regardless. There's always hope.

He made his way through the crowd of people, dodging crate laden carts and people alike with the ease that only comes after having grown up in such a busy town. He finished his loaf of bread as he walked and wiped the crumbs away with his sleeves, eventually making his way back to the group. "So slow! I thought you'd be at the gate by now."

“Excuse me. Larger gentleman with the sword, you wouldn't happen to be referring to those floating candles, would you?” He looked up at the man riding the carriage and arched an eyebrow. He eyed the man up and down quickly. Long coat, lots of traveling. Carriage, a man of medium wealth. Apparently unarmed so not a noble or anything along those lines. A merchant he concluded. Allan had grown up playing this game with himself and had only grown more accurate over the years. He smiled up at the man and let the scene play out. Likely he would ask for the herb they were about to get for Aisha, in hopes of discerning the Candle Hag's secret recipe. If that were indeed the case then this merchant would probably be booted out of town with a few missing teeth at the least. But Ark was the leader of this little adventure, so Allan left the ordeal to his judgement. He sat on an upturned crate and double checked his bags to make sure he had everything he needed.

Thoroark heard the man yelling,referring to him as the 'Larger Gentleman with the sword' and then the following question. He turned around,still rather tall considering he was sitting on the floor and looked over a few of the shorter people at the man near the carriage. He grinned and wrapped a heavy paw around the hilt of his blade,intending to toy with the man,after-all he wasn't one to harm people,just one to scare the wits out of people for fun.

"Careful what you ask about stranger,I am referring to the candles yes. Though I warn you now,if you're looking to walk away with the recipe for it this town'll send you out to the wilderness on your arse within seconds. We all work together here." He yelled to the stranger, tightening his grip around the blade till his knuckles whitened,standing up with a face like thunder and thumping towards the stranger. He stopped a mere step away and even growled at the new-comer. "If that's the case..." Thoroark continued,unsheathing his sword slightly and looking as if he were about to pull it from it's scabbard...before letting go of the handle and grinning like an idiot,reaching the same hand out and placing it lightly on the man's shoulder.

"Then you're welcome to come along!,I was just messing with you, It's for the candles,I'm mounting a little field-trip into the mountains,Aisha worries about me when I hike up there so if you come along to 'make sure I'm safe' she'll probably be grateful enough to give you a few as a thanks. Without the herb the candles aren't going to be made anyway from what I know." He said with a kind smile,his posture much different from his earlier seemingly murderous intent. "Alright,whoever's coming head to the gate,Quicker we get this done the quicker I actually get to sit down and relax" He commented,smiling to himself as he strolled towards the gate. Picking his rucksack up off the ground by Lauren as he did so and walking off without checking who followed.

When Thoroark got up and started heading to the person who talked to them, with a murderous intent in his way of speech Lauren got preoccupied. She silently drew her bow, she was not standing idle and see someone get hurt, but then Thoroark relaxed and invited the guy with them. "He was only joking." she sighed. Lauren putted her bow away, and headed towards the gate like he said. But she didn't forgot what he said.
"Bread, bear meat, Hydra meat and a little of Troll's Rind. Bread, bear meat, Hydra meat and a little of Troll's Rind" she continued to mutter the ingredients to herself, she wasn't particularly disgusted by the Troll's Rind, she ate worse when she stayed in the wilderness for more than one month, but he said it in a joking tone, so he could be lying to her and that wasn't the secret for being tall at all. Because even though she was 18, she was still hoping she could grow up a little bit more. As she headed for the gate (Following Thoroark, because she still had now idea how to orientate herself in a town) she thought where did this plant grew, and what where the dangers that lied ahead of them, for the enchantress to be worried about Thoroark.

As soon as the tall man grabbed the hilt of that massive sword, Michael thanked his lucky stars that he was wearing his special gloves. Hopefully, should the large man be driven enough to do something, he'd think Michael to be unarmed. One dodge and a good strike to the knee and most people go down. Considering he was close to the coach mean that large hunk of metal might damage it and what was inside, but moving could have just provoked a reaction. Despite the fear, turned mild after so many encounters like this, he kept a straight face. Even cocked an eyebrow as if saying, 'really?'

"Careful what you ask about stranger, I am referring to the candles yes. Though I warn you now, if you're looking to walk away with the recipe for it this town'll send you out to the wilderness on your arse within seconds. We all work together here." The large man yelled back, standing and putting on a face meant to be fierce but Michael had to suppress a laugh. He'd seen this before on bandits half the man's size, and not a single one who did such a thing was in the right line of work. The larger man was in a street full of pedestrians and the 'we all work together here' comment betrayed that he wasn't going to do anything that would harm bystanders. Grabbing a sword he couldn't safely use around the townsfolk betrayed that his intentions were intimidation and nothing more, and that just ruined the whole effect. As the man walked closer, however, Michael grew ready for hand to hand and suppressed a smile with a frown and furrowed brow. Hand to hand with Michael was not a good idea unless you wanted a couple bruised, maybe even broken, ribs. Or, considering the tall man's height, lifelong sterility.

"If that's the case..." He stopped only a step away, causing Michael to nearly betray his faux fear with a laugh. The large man still clung to his sword, even slightly pulling it from the scabbard, but at this range it would have simply caught on the coach and then Michael could easily break something, possibly the jaw if the man had lowered his head in the swing. But since that could simply be a ruse to distract from the large man's free hand, Michael was prepared to simply aim for the manhood with a good kick should he be pinned against the coach. Not exactly honourable tactics, but neither was such conduct from the large man.

That was when the man let go of his sword and grinned like a drunken fool. At this point Michael did truly feel fear as he did not know what was going to happen next. The humour was not lost on him, that a friendly face was more frightening, but that was the nature of trading. If someone came out of a deal smiling, then it was usually a bad deal for the other person. This may be no exception. This feeling was doubled when the large man's great paw was laid on Michael's shoulder, the doubt about the situation piling up.

"Then you're welcome to come along! I was just messing with you, It's for the candles," said the tall man, Michael still unsure of his true intentions, "I'm mounting a little field-trip into the mountains, Aisha worries about me when I hike up there so if you come along to 'make sure I'm safe' she'll probably be grateful enough to give you a few as a thanks. Without the herb the candles aren't going to be made anyway from what I know." Michael stayed still and processed the situation. Blinking slowly, he thought, well... I can't possibly see this backfire in any way, and nodded, letting out a sound of reserved agreement, a simple hum of 'mmm.'

"Alright, whoever's coming head to the gate. Quicker we get this done the quicker I actually get to sit down and relax." So spoke the tall man, walking towards the town gate that Michael had just found his way from. As soon as the tall man no longer took up half Michael's view he breathed a sigh of relief. The sigh stopped as he saw the smaller girl putting what looked to be a bow away. Was she in on it, or fooled? Either a close friend or a perfect stranger, I wouldn't wonder.

Shaking himself from his stupefaction Michael moved into the inn and got directions to a barn where he could store his vehicle and the donkeys. Out of curiosity Michael asked about the candles he had come for and the tall man's information was confirmed when the inn keeper said 'she hasn't been making as many of those as she used to, lately.' 'Damn it all.' he thought to himself, then tipped the innkeeper for his assistance. Two choices were apparent. He could wait at the inn, hoping he wouldn't have to wait long in order to get word about the candles. Maybe take in the local sights. Or he could accompany the large man and his companion, plus whoever else was assisting, and help get what they needed to get the candles that much faster. Michael was leaning towards simply staying put until he thought of something. 'If they're friends of who ever makes the candles, this Aisha person if I heard correctly, then maybe they'll put in a good word for me and I can buy these candles for less and make a bit more of a profit. Hell, maybe this Aisha will be coming along and we could talk business on the way there. Worth a try.' And with that it was decided.

After putting up his donkeys and coach, buying some new food as what he had was getting stale, and, since supplies were low, buying some extra yarn, thread, and fabric in the event of necessary patchwork, Michael went to the town gate and yawned slightly. He wasn't tired enough to require sleep; it was the middle of the day and he was prone to keep odd hours. He was more mentally strained than anything. Nothing the last of the slowly drying bread wouldn't fix.

Leaning against the gate he eyed up the tall man and then shook his head. 'Yeah, that's not going to happen.' He then looked at the woman near him and thought, 'maybe in a few years. Could be the big guy's kid to boot. I like keeping my head on top of my shoulders.' As he thought about this, something occurred to him. He never got there names.

"You know," he said half jokingly, "that wasn't exactly what I expected when I heard of the 'Willowspeak hospitality' that people from nearby towns kept telling me about. I'm Michael. Would the person who makes these candles be joining us on the trip?"

He laughed as he stood up. The look on the merchants faces was priceless! "You'd do well to come with us Mr.Merchant. Your candles won't be ready until after we come back, so why not come with us and make sure it gets done quickly?" With that he walked off after Lauren and Ark, putting his arms behind his head and smiling as he did.

He heard Lauren muttering to herself as he walked up. "Bread, bear meat, Hydra meat, and a little of Troll's Rind." He shook his head and arched an eyebrow up at Ark. "Troll's rind? What have you been telling her Ark? Last time you tried to eat that even YOU were bed ridden for a week. It would've killed a lesser man." He took two long steps a in front of Lauren and turned, walking backwards now but facing Lauren. "Don't even think about trying to eat Trolls rind, you'll only end up dead." There was no smile on his face, he was being dead serious right now and it showed in his eyes.

He turned back around and kept walking, now between Ark and Lauren. "Not to say it doesn't serve a purpose. Prepared correctly, it's a pretty potent medicine. Got Ed through a real nasty fever." He wasn't smiling then either, though they couldn't see. That had been the worst week of his entire life, sitting there, unable to help his own father, well adopted father, as he slowly died. It'd been Ark who'd gotten the rind and Aisha that had made the medicine, and he felt more deeply indebted to them than he cared to admit.

His assent far was without incident, mostly due to the fact that he avoided any kind of contact if it could be. Funny how when you have red skin and horns protruding from your skull, people for some reason or another tend to act apprehensive around you. Whenever Kairon passed through any sort of settlements there were very little variations in reaction to his presence. Parents huddled around their children or ushered them to their homes, he'd get stares and dirty looks, and some even brought out weapons and eyed him until he left. Every once in a while though he'd come across a zealot who'd taken upon the “sacred duty” to banish the “demon” and do so with violence.

Rare was it that he'd come upon a soul who didn't look at him with suspicion, the most the Tiefling ever asked for was mere apathy, that would suffice in many ways. Thus Willowspeak was a place he didn't bother to enter, if only to avoid the same iteration of ignorance. His reasons for being here, climbing this mountain, was that of his personal hobby. Little known fact that Phantomshade is a natural manna stimulant, though one must be careful with the dosage as it is particularly potent. From what Kairon gathered from this region however that this plant was mostly used in candle making, he could only surmise that these were quite an expensive product to make if they involved such a plant as an ingredient, but for his personal use, it would make for a better elixer.

He decided to rest for a bit for the moment, after all there was no hurry, it wasn't as if there were competition for the plant.

Thoroark grinned and almost ignored everything going on around him until they reached the gate,standing tall and pulling his sword free of it's scabbard to check it for any nicks. The heavy weapon crashed to the ground,even cracking the cobblestone path.The spot he stood in was surrounded by similar cracks of varying sizes,yet none of them seemed to match the small pit that the sword now sat in,something was obviously on the giant's mind. Despite his seemingly brutish behaviour to some he was an emotional man.

"Hm?,No Aisha won't be coming with us....I'm the errand boy, she's the sorceress,mage,whatever you call it from your part of the world. Besides the town feels more at ease when atleast one of us hangs around, This village is kinda famous for housing unique individuals, champion's, heroes and what-not. Or atleast what the rest of Theransted likes to call heroes,it's the only way this little town can exist out here in Willowspeak. Not much else that isn't corrupted lives up this way if you haven't noticed. Atleast I'm never bored right?" He explained, checking the blade over and then pulling the hilt up to elbow height so he could lean on it.

The giant checked his equipment for a final time and then without another word or a thought of leaving anyone behind started slowly walking out of the village,if anyone was lagging behind they could easily catch up with the man. He was taking his time,His monstrous sword held in his right hand,hoisted up and leaning on the accompanying shoulder,a scythe sized ice-pick twirling slowly in the other and his eyes to the sky. Misted over in such a way that gave off that he was in deep thought and nearing on being unaware of the world around him. He would later, eventually start making his way off the path in a sharp diagonal,heading towards the only tree in the area that covered itself in firey orange leaves,the tree that's gnarled branches would point the group towards the frosted Willowspeak and whatever destiny awaited them.

Aisha yawned lazily and reached behind her head, stretching after an unexpected nap, which occurred while she was in her journal, writing up a to do list for herself: projects to do, deliveries to make, her usual day to day work. She looked over her list, and was rather delighted to find that she didn't have anything urgent to do, which was not often the case: people wanted their candles and enchanted goods with some haste, so they can pay a tiny fee to have her work on said product more urgently.

She glanced down at the ring that Ark gave her earlier, and a quizzical look flashed across her face. She held out her hand to the ring, and a faint glow emanated from her palm, a result of using telekinesis. The ring gracefully floated into the air, and drifted closer to Aisha's face, so she cold get a better look of it.

"It doesn't necessarily LOOK enchanted," she mumbled to herself, thinking about why he'd bring a mundane ring to her.
Then the thought hit her: her face flushed bright red, and her voice became shaky and uneasy;
"Was it a gift, or even.." She paused, and gulped, before stammering the rest of the sentence:
"A p-p-proposal?!"

The ring, almost plucked from the air by her loss of focus, dropped onto her table with a clack, the coin balancing on its side.
"D-does he actually want to marry me?!" The words felt odd to her, especially when they referred to a long-time companion and coworker. It made sense, as she'd grown rather fond of him too, but she never expected it to be like THAT.

"What am I thinking? I need to go relax, the stress is probably getting to me." She tried to rationalize it, but she couldn't help but be curious. Maybe she'd ask him about it later.

She stood up from her chair, grabbed a sign from the back that read [Aisha's not available, check the bar, or come back later], and hung it infront of the shop door, before locking the door and starting towards the tavern.

While walking down the street, she noticed someone unfamiliar to her, a fairly rare occurrence in Willowspeak. She waved briefly to him, a friendly greeting can always be appreciated, even from a stranger. She turned back to the tavern, and walked in, slumping down into a chair, and getting a glass of Willow's Ale, a drink brewed near the village.

"And then the guy says, 'Treant? I hardly knew 'er! ' "
The table of mages burst into laughter, causing Aisha to snap back into focus. She had met some of her old buddies from the Eldritch Academy, the school where they all began their magical study.
She peered down into the mug of ale, the liquid was a darker amber, but with a noticeable purpleish hue. It was brewed with a native Willowspeak flower, so the drink got a more floral color, and was a bit sweeter than most ales, but still just as strong and sharp.
"Those animated golemoids you described, could we learn how to design one for ourselves, like a shopkeeper? I could use an extra pair of hands that doesn't need to leave o sleep." Aisha inquired to the one in blue robes, who had become a court wizard: he was at the noble's court mainly for the sake of having information on the mystical and unusual.
" There's a wonderful way to do this, AND I have an idea to get you a pretty penny from it." The Mage chirped, his shrill voice was rather humorous on a wise wizard like himself.
He beckoned her to him, and she leaned over towards him, and he whispered into her ear, about how to make golem cores. The process was simple, and intuitive for designing different kinds of them, but there was one little issue: a soul of someone deceased is needed to make it sentient and/or intelligent. There was one simple and lucrative solution, she'd visit funerals and mourners, and make a golem from their soul, at a fee of course, to let the dead be (kind of) alive again. It was like resurrection, but a LOT less practical.
Aisha's eyes sparkled with excitement and intrigue, as if she could see the gold she'd make infront of her.
"Looks like I'm paying for drinks now. To Seivus, and his knowledge!" Aisha made a toast to him, and they all clinked their mugs together, before taking a swig of their drinks.
The night was filled with laughter and stories, the atmosphere was a drunken euphoria, nobody at the Frosty Dragon was having as good of a time as the mages, ironic for how intellectual and snooty they're portrayed to be.

==========

Meanwhile, at the mountain, night began to descend, and it was uncommonly peaceful so far. A wolf howled in the distance, but no attacks. The most that the party saw was the occasional pair of lupine eyes, but the creatures seemed to be cautious, even more than they usually are.

Something had gone wrong, well on the grand scheme of things it was so far inconsequential but the slip that Silent had let off could be lethal in different circumstances, fortunately today it seemed to be just a reminder that he could always do better.

After all he had apparently stood out and catch the eye of a wom- girl, she did not seem too old, that magnificent hair was the thing that Silent remembered most of her, it was radiant, it ate the sun´s own light and made it its own, he could not recall the color of her eyes or if she was smiling, frowning or what.

But that hair

Yet she banished as soon as she came

Good, dont want to deal with the locals unless i've got no other choice

After a while of some evaluation, careful watching, tests to his perception and having spent most of the day, things got a little clearer

Much as he had suspected the device of operation behind these candles was indeed fueled by magic, it remained to be seen if the operator of these contraptions required to be a magic user, an even better question would be if he himself would be able to use or carry this items, many times the curse he bore had its effect on devices powered by magic.

It worked in his favor as often as it didnt, if by his mere touch they would no longer work then the profit he would have made was as good as gone, there could be no middle man but him

Always cut the middle man, I'm the only exception

It all led to a house where this magician lived, yet there was a message [Aisha's not available, check the bar, or come back later] well now there was something to look forward to, what was he supposed to do barge into the bar, kick the door open order the heaviest thing they had and beat someone up?

He could not go to the bar, he would either end up in dice games, drinking to much, pulling aces and all of those led to violent and notorious outcomes... but then again he could just go to catch a glimpse of anyone resembling a wizard.

Look for staves, pointy hats or talking animals, those wizards love their goddamned talking animals

Yet just as he was about to take a peek someone came thundering in shouting about a wounded man, he followed the trail to the scene and it was nothing grim, the green haired lad did look familiar, that wasnt a common haircolor... did he knew this man?