After traveling for five days, the group finally reaches the city of Zuoss. There are many brown buildings along paved stone streets as well as an overwhelming amount of stalls, with vendors selling all sorts of exotic foods, fabrics, animals, and so on.
Eliandir sighs at the severe lack of trees and open space, but quickly convinces himself that this is a positive situation. He wanted to explore and see as much of the world as he could, and this is exactly what he's doing.
Earth smiles contentedly at the sight of the city. The libraries and centers of learning this place must have! Tomes probably available everywhere. They may posses magical things that people in Renethe have never even dreamed!
ReplyDeleteLooking at his companions, he sees the look on Eli's face a slight mirror of his own. "Now you know how I feel in the forests and wilderness. It's exciting, but there's the tight little ball of uneasiness in the pit of your stomach. But everything you want to see and do is just right in front of you..."
"I have no idea what I want to do or see," Eliandir says with a bit of apprehension in his voice. "There's lots of people and no where to escape to it would seem." He carefully walks through the crowd, watching how everyone moves, looking for any wares that may catch his eye, and occasionally glancing at small alley ways and the roofs of buildings.
ReplyDeleteMoving through the crowd alongside Eli, Ashlyn scans the many stalls. There were a lot of things she had never seen, I bet a lot of this could get a good bit of coin back in Renenthe. "Why are you always looking for a place to escape, Rainbow?" Addressing the elf, who was currently darting his eyes around.
ReplyDeleteThandwen laughs and tosses her hair over her shoulder. "Who wants to escape? This place is amazing! I say we get a room and drop off our gear. Let's have some fun!"
ReplyDelete"B-because um," he scratches his head thoughtfully, trying to put his thought into words. "Sometimes you just need to get away from things that make you feel uncomfortable. Or things that are trying to kill you," Eli chuckles with a shrug.
ReplyDeleteHe looks over at Thandwen, doubting their ideas of fun will match up well.
"Maybe a little relaxation before some fun. A comfortable bed sounds great to me after five days of rocks and hard ground!"
ReplyDeleteWatching Scorpia zip over to look at a vendor stall, Erath smiles. "I think everyone will find plenty of fun or something interesting at the least."
"Put that away before I stuff it in a jar," Eliandir hisses leaning close to Erath. "Fairies aren't something people commonly see flitting around market places. Unless they are dead...in a jar..."
ReplyDelete"Those go for a good bit of gold, you know." Ashlyn says nonchalantly as she looks through the stalls.
ReplyDeleteErath frowns at Eli before glancing at the sprite. Scorpia's head snaps up and she zips back over to Erath's horse, sitting sullenly on its head. She gives Eli the evil eye and sticks her tongue out the elf.
ReplyDelete"Relax about her. She's a familiar, she can't really cause trouble without my consent and if need be I can dismiss her. But I don't think a small pocket dimension is probably all that fun. Besides, she and Ashlyn seem to like each other enough... now."
"I'm not worried about her doing anything...well...actually I am, but that's beside the point. I'm more worried about causing a scene," Eliandir sighs.
ReplyDeleteThe sprite points an accusatory finger at Radion. "Right, and a wolf walking through a city is soooo not trouble!?"
ReplyDeleteWith a disapproving look from Erath, Scorpia sighs and hangs her head defeated before vanishing. The Tiefling turns back to Eli. "Happy? No sprite to make a scene. She did raise a good point though. You might want to keep a sharp eye on Radion. Not for any trouble he might get into, but one of these traveling zoos might just try to cart him off. "
Eliandir scoffs and laughs. "Canines accompanying hunters is hardly anything to make a scene over. It's been happening since the beginning of time."
ReplyDeleteThandwen groans and drags her feet. "I'm going to go rent a room and drop all this stuff off. Who wants to explore the city?"
ReplyDeleteAshlyn bounces energetically, "I'd love to! There's so much stuff here to ste- uh, take in." She removes her flask from her coat and gives it a shake, empty. "I would also like to fill this up. I'll go with you to the inn."
ReplyDeleteEliandir nods at Thandwen's suggestion to explore and follows her in search of an inn. "Too bad there's no tree to sleep in," he groans. "I guess a room will have to do."
ReplyDeleteNodding in agreement, Erath. "I agree with Ashlyn. A few minutes to refresh and soothe our thirst would be great before exploring."
ReplyDeleteHaving dropped off his meager stuff in his room at the inn, he gives long pause to consider the bed for a nap.
ReplyDeleteWith a resigned sigh, he locks up and heads down to the bar. He orders a glass of wine and sips it waiting for the others to come down. Decent. It's pretty young, but sweet. Still find it curious why Ashlyn likes the heavy stuff with no real taste other than burning.
Before Thandwen, Ashlyn and Eliandir speak to the innkeeper to get a room, Eliandir pulls them aside and speaks softly. "May I...could we...could someone share a room with me?" he asks. "I have a hard time feeling safe in a small closed up room. Especially windowless ones," he clears his throat before continuing. "I like being outside in the safety of the tress and the woods but as you know, there really aren't any trees here. I'd be able to sleep better if I didn't have to curl up behind the door or under the bed in preparation for an ambush." He looks up at them expectantly. I hope they don't laugh at me. Or treat me like a baby. Or both. Or worse. Oh gods! Why did I say anything!?
ReplyDeleteThandwen's growing grin changes to a soft, genuine smile. "Of course, cousin. I'd be happy to share with you. I'm not wholly comfortable inside human structures myself," she adds, putting an arm around his shoulders.
ReplyDeleteAshlyn approaches the two elves, having returned from the bar with a full tankard of spiced rum. She moves to Eli's other side, putting her free arm around his shoulder. "I agree. Why don't we all just share a room? It is a lot safer to stay together." She finishes her sentence by downing a good fourth of her rum.
ReplyDeleteHer grin returning, Thandwen pinches Ashlyn's cheek. "As fun as that sounds, I think cousin might prefer to not hear me sneaking into your bed later... Perhaps you should have your own room so we don't disturb him."
ReplyDeleteEliandir shrugs. "I'll sleep fine knowing I'm not alone and we can't leave Ashlyn alone if we're together for safety."
ReplyDeleteThandwen shrugs back at him. "If that's what you wish. Although I'm not sure it's safety so much as comfort," she teased gently. "Now let's finish this rooming business and see what there is to see."
ReplyDelete"Hell yeah, it's a slumber party!" She takes another hearty swig from her tankard and skips over to the innkeeper with Eli and Thandwen.
ReplyDelete"I guess comfort is a better word," he says thoughtfully.
ReplyDeleteAfter making the arrangements for the room, Eli stretches with a sigh. "Well, now that the business with the room is taken care of, I guess it's time to explore. Maybe eat something or find an interesting trinket."
"Finally," she says, dropping her gear. "Let's go. There's no point in sitting here drinking when we can walk around and drink!"
ReplyDeleteErath arcs an eyebrow at the three as they finally get done. "Ready? Where to first?"
ReplyDelete"Yes! I'm looking forward to finding a few trinkets myself," Ashlyn says slyly as she walks out with her two companions.
ReplyDelete"Trinkets sounds good!" Erath nods as he pulls up in back of the group. "Maybe I can find someone to appraise this sword as well."
ReplyDeleteEliandir smiles and looks out at the crowded streets. "Maybe I can find something new for arrows," he says in awe, thinking about all the new possible components he may be able to find. "We may find some interesting food too. Or maybe even a jarred pixie," he smirks.
ReplyDelete"Maybe I can make some gold." Ashlyn was walking beside Eli, tankard in hand. She was scanning the stalls and shops, and taking note of what might be valuable.
ReplyDeleteErath chuckles at the jab. "Dunno, Eli. I've heard that jarred pixies are horribly bad luck. If you want, I can get you a jar and Scorpia can help you test it..."
ReplyDeleteEliandir chuckles and sighs. "For being a creature of magic, you know very little about how it works either in spells or other magical, dead creatures. So delusional." He instinctively gives a condescending pat to Erath's shoulder then stares down at his hand in horror. He's touched it. He looks around almost frantically, trying to find something to wipe the bad luck off onto but he doesn't wish to condem Thandwen, Ashlyn, or even a stranger. Instead, he rips the bandage of his hand, stuffs it into a pouch to burn later, and furiously rubs his palm on his pant leg, whispering what sounds like a prayer. Eliandir clears his throat and walks away from the Tiefling.
ReplyDeleteErath smirks, bemused at the superstitious elf. "Don't worry, I keep most of my bad luck on my other shoulder. Tell me friend, how did you acquire such insight into the field of luck? I'd always been told it never really existed."
ReplyDeleteEliandir snorts and stops walking long enough to reply. "That is something only an ignorant, cloistered human would say. Luck is an effect of magic and obviously an explanation from me will be lost on you." He waves his hand dismissively. "Prayers and tokens centered around luck and its energies exist for a reason." He smirks. "Do you honestly think elves would create defenses and charms and use them for millennia for something that didn't exist?"
ReplyDeleteHe walks over to a stall that catches his eye. Spread out on a large table are multiple bowls and baskets that contain various stones and gems. Eli picks through them, trying to find something that may be large enough to carve into arrow heads. It doesn't seem like any are going to be large enough so he focuses on looking through the bowls containing quartz and agate.
Ashlyn sifts through a stand containing a multitude of trinkets. Large jeweled rings, marbled stone eggs, circular gold bracelets and plenty of other things. "I don't know if I believe in luck, but if it does exist I'd say I've got a good bit of it. She sweeps her hand over a bowl of strange glittery rocks, and picks up her tankard downing the rest of her whiskey.
ReplyDelete"You should lighten up a little more Eli, you can't always control luck."
Eli feels a knot form in his stomach when Ashlyn speaks and his reply is quiet. "I never said you could control it. If it's strong enough, good or bad, you may not always have the power to affect it."
ReplyDeleteAshlyn winks at the elf noticing his nervousness and tosses him a smooth stone laced with a shimmery copper-like metal, "then don't take things so serious." She smiles and brings out her flask to refill the empty tankard.
ReplyDeleteHe catches the stone and smiles softly at her, glad to see she doesn't hate him. He purchases a few small stones and continues to browse the stalls. "You would think when you live as long as we do, you'd learn to not take things so seriously, but the opposite happens. You start to take certain things very seriously." Eliandir pauses for a moment. "And other things you learn are not worth an ounce of effort. There doesn't seem to be an in between."
ReplyDelete"Short lives breed impatience and an inherent seriousness about certain things." Erath says examining a talisman marked to ward off bad luck.
ReplyDelete"Honestly, I find your mindset refreshing. It's good to see a long outlook."