Myths of Thalassana: The Cursed Stones of Light

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Bingo began to shudder. "W-wait! You spoke of fun experiences! This sounds like danger!"
 
"Danger?" grinned the wizard. "Certainly there is danger, as with any journey. I, for instance, am dangerous, more dangerous than most things you will ever meet, even if you walk into the Wastelands. And Silentium is dangerous, and the captain over there is dangerous. You are surrounded by danger every day, Bingo, for you are dangerous yourself, in your own fashion. Even Thalassana and Fairfields are dangerous, not least to those would harm their citizens or try invading them. But for those prepared to enter them, they can be a haven, and for those prepared to enter it, even the wilderness of the south and west can be quite an interesting adventure. It never hurts to be prepared, after all, and while there has been quite a bit of peace since the Great War, we will be traveling quite a distance from these lands over mountain, valley, shoreline and canyon. Still, if all goes well, I think this will be educational for all of us, and for you, especially, Bingo."
 
At the mention of his name, Silentium thought he'd been invited to sit down. This place seemed secure enough anyways, so he took a seat by the wizard and eyed the pile of turnovers for a moment before reaching for one. Silentium's was a more basic form of greed; his simple mind was content enough with nourishment. He couldn't comprehend such things as riches and the worth of glowing stones.

Bingo shook his head. "All right, I'll not doubt your judgement any longer... but I'll surely pass out if I think on this topic any longer." He took up an ale and began chugging it. Now one must take note that Bingo is not such a regular drinker; he enjoyed his daily cup of wine in front of the fireplace at home, but he was quite stressed indeed to down a mug of unfamiliar ale so swiftly.
 
Paragonis shook his head at the halfling's worried response. "My dear Bingo, sometimes you must understand that simply being timorous about things will not necessarily guarantee you safety. Any oldster with a good helping of gumption would tell you from experience that sometimes the proper response to danger is to acknowledge and confront it face on. While this might be hard to do, as are many proper things, it can and will often save you a great deal of trouble."

He sighed. "And downing ale like a glass of water might not feel like such a good idea in the morning."
 
"Whyever not?" he rasped/groaned. "I don't... HURK!" Bingo put a hand to his mouth as his face took a slightly green shade, and he rushed out of the tavern to eject the unfamiliar liquor.
 
The wizard shrugged as the bartender raised an eyebrow, then said to Kutta and Silentium, "I shall be back in a moment."

He walked over to the door where the poor halfling was contributing to the city's output of waste in the gutter and patted him on the back. "Perhaps something less strong would be desirable."
 
Silentium watched the wizard leave, then looked at Kutta and shrugged before lifting his faceplate and consuming a turnover happily.

Bingo coughed and nodded. "P-perhaps this journey will--COUGH--also teach me to drink of a more familiar ale, too..."
 
"Perhaps it will," smiled the old man kindly. "How about I buy you some light cider? Or perhaps a mix of some sort, or simple juice if you prefer."
 
"Oh, bother... I'll just drown my sorrows in pomegranate juice," he sighed miserably. "When do we leave?"
 
"We leave when we gather the remainder of our group," grinned Paragonis. "I'm sure the captain will want to come along, and from what I hear the dwarf also expressed quite a bit of interest in helping acquire these stones."

They walked back up the stairs and into the warmth of the tavern, and in a short while were seated again. The wizard ordered the halfling a pint of pomegranate juice, and continued sipping his mug (which was still half full).
 
Bingo sipped tiredly at the pomegranate juice and dreamed of home. This probably wouldn't be the last time he did that...

Meanwhile, Silentium was greatly enjoying his second turnover, likely the tastiest thing he'd had all month. Feeling particularly merry and generous, he held one out to Paragonis, attempting to spread the cheer.
 
The old man smiled and accepted the turnover with a bow. "Thank you, Silentium! Would either of you like some as well?" he asked Kutta and Bingo.
 
Bingo turned it down. "I'll eat later... let her have both," he grumbled, tipping his head toward Kutta. "I should've packed a bed, I'm already exhausted from thinking of such terrible adventures..."
 
"Oh don't you worry about that, Bingo," chuckled the wizard. "The inn has quite a number of rooms available, in sizes for humans, dwarves and halflings alike. I'll pay for your room, if you wish."
 
"I should like that very much," Bingo grumbled. "You didn't give me time to bring any money!"
 
"Thank-ye." Kutta nodded to Bingo and Paragonis then began devouring one of the turnovers, tearing the pasty into chunks then stuffing them in her mouth rather than biting.
Her method of eating leaves her fingers sticky with the fruity filling, which she licks off between mouthfuls. Now and then she swigs some scrumpy as she swallows, letting its fruity tones and sharp tang mix with the sweetness of the pastry and the tartness of its filling. She eyes the other pastry, then grabs it as well.
Pausing before she starts consuming this one, she thinks on where she will stay for the night. The evening so far had been pleasant outside, so she decides to find a place where she can rest under the stars.
The moment of contemplation over, Kutta digs in to her second pastry.
 
While listening in, Kale thought of his own informality. He certainly did not look the part, and he knew it.

Kale looked around, then dragged a stool closer to the bar. It made an irritating squeaking sound in the process, and the halfling cringed at that. He climbed onto the seat and sat, elbows rested on the table.
 
Kutta turns towards the noise and looks at Kale quizzically for a second before returning her attention to her turnover.
Kutta has opened up this turnover and she is licking the fruit conserve off the pastry.
 
The night had fallen clear, the stars winking with untold mischief were as bright as the glint of sun across unsteady water. The lamps had just been lit and they danced sleepily from their holders like birds just stirring from sleep. Under on the lamps stood a strange girl watching the fire with a strange expression. There was a kind of intensity with which she stared at the flame that was almost uncomfortable for those passersby's, who happened to look her way, to witness as though there was something not quite right. But then, there were few who could talk with Raenah without noticing that there was something distinctly off with her. A wildness, the cold reserve of a predator mixed with the restless alertness of prey thrown together in an odd mix. Living in the wild will do that to a person.

After a while Raenah suddenly blinked and turned to look somewhere off to her right, like a dog only just roused from sleep by some interesting noise. For another few moments she stared off to her right before she moved off with a sudden jerk. Her pace was fast, though smooth, causing the subtle wind to catch the corners of her heavy cloak. Thick beaver and mink hide parted to revel her worn and patched pants, a pair of slipper like leather shoes and a rather new woven shirt. If one had started examining her from the bottom up the appearance of the woven shirt was a little off putting, even with the coarsely woven fiber belt wrapped snugly around her midriff it didn't quite fit. But, Raenah didn't appeared to be bothered with how she dressed, or how she looked for that matter, as her hair was a frizzy mess pulled back into a loose ponytail and tied with a small strip of raw hide.

As she weaved and dodged her way through the crowd, sticking to the edges to avoid the thickest part of the crowd, Raenah could be seem occationally directing her gaze upwards her eyes searching. In her mind she kept on repeating the directions that had been given to her by a kindly farmer.
"White sign, maid with green dress." she recalled once again as her eyes passed over yet another hanging sign for a tavern. She had been told that the name of the inn would be painted under the design, but, having never learned to read this was not very helpful, so for now she relied on the sign's description. Thankfully, the sign was bigger than she had expected and it matched the description exactly.

Carefully she traced her way closer, her steps becoming shorter more clipped, and her shoulders hunching over as though she expected trouble. As a general rule Raenah avoided bars, taverns, and inns, any place where to many people crowded together to make a general din. Indeed as she approached the door she hesitated as she stepped upon the door frame. But, she was not given to much time to debate her own reserves as there were several people behind her and she was all but forced through the door way. But, even once inside her manner was that of a feral dog who had wandered into a house looking for scraps and was afraid of being hit or kicked out the door. Looking around quickly she saw an opening and dodged forward with fast jerking movements. Though the bar was just about full up there were a few open spots left, one of which was a seat nestled into the corner formed where the bar met the wall. It was right next to a group of people who looked to be gathering, an odd bunch including a couple halflings, a wizard and a fully armored knight. Being so close to a group was not ideal for Raenah but, she would tolerate it so long as she could keep her seat saftly tucked into the corner.
 
Paragonis chuckled and patted the gambler on the back. "Don't you worry, dear Bingo, I highly doubt we shall be having any need for gold or money from now on, after we exit the city of Thalassana."

He turned to Kale as his chair made noise. "Ah, another adventurer, perhaps?"

He looked and smiled kindly at Raenah, but said nothing, respecting her desire for privacy.
 
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