Overture

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The Oddsman dismounts as well, hefting his warhammer from its 'sheath.' Taking a look at the pick-axe-like end, he replies, "I certainly could try, though I've no expereicen of climbing in all my running, but at least I'd be able to hold on to my warhammer, if I dug it into the tree trunk."
 
"Or I can make it easier and go with the boy. I work best from above since I can see more. Serina, how about you and Oddsman pair up then, though that would leave Teran and Aben if that's fine.. We need to start making sense of what's going on.." And with that, Rydia dismounts her horse and moves to follow up the tree, not waiting for anyone to intervene.
 
Serina was caught somewhere between relief that she didn't have to make a choice and trepidation that she was paired up with the rather intimidating Oddsman. Maybe she should have joined Ezekul. She glanced over and saw Rydia gracefully climbing up the tree. Too late for that. With nothing else to do, she hesitantly made her way over to the Oddsman and stood awkwardly, intently staring at her bow.
 
Ezekul nods, quickly scrambling up the tree swinging from one of the branches for a moment and looking to Rydia, before lifting himself up, and nearing the top, stopping at a fork near there, not really wanting to go up it any further as he says "I dont think we should climb higher than this... It doesn't seem really stable..." He'd look around at the city from where he was, trying to move over if Rydia decided to join him up there.
 
The Oddsman suppressed a smile at her demeanor and awkwardness; it was always great fun to watch someone when they are awkward. "Come on, Serina, let's see what we can find." He mounted his horse again, nodding to hers as an indication to get on hers again. "It might be best if we stay mounted... I would like a fast escape in case we meet... something bad." At the end of his sentence, he grew serious and quiet again, a flicker of something approaching fear in his eyes. Even the hardened can be scared.
 
Serina mumbled something that could have been an agreement as she tossed her bow onto her saddle and scrambled up after it, cursing her inability to say a full sentence without stuttering in the presence of anyone who wasn't a close friend. When she was fully on her horse with her bow held rather uselessly in one hand as she needed the other to hold the reigns, she pondered the full implications of the Oddsman's words. Something bad. Somehow all the vague implications that came with the phrase was more frightening than if the man had told her there was an enemy army hiding in the underbrush, waiting in ambush. She tightened her grip on her bow.
 
Climbing up the tree, Rydia takes a perch closeby from the room Ezekul would give, peering out to the rest of the town of what she could see. "This whole place doesn't have a stable feeling about it, Zeke.." Keeping herself where she was for now, her bow would be drawn, an arrow at the ready once again, "The sooner we can leave, the better.. We're not in friendly territory by far."
 
Ezekul nods, lowering himself some to sit as he says "As unnerving as it is... As creepy as it is... It is kind of... Peaceful... You know? I mean, it doesn't feel like anythings going to happen... But uh... That's also kind of creepy..." He shifts in the little posistion he's got set up, before saying "I'm not sure this is good land to live on though." He'd take a moment to try and get his rope out, starting to tie it around one of the branches as he says "Might make for a easier way down... Er... Just in case, you know?"
 
"Oh come on, don't be shy around me. Nobody'll like me anyways, so you can go ahead and use hate or something against me to talk." He flashed her a not-so-reassuring smile at her, cold eyes studying any reaction, as the Oddsman rode past her, into town.
 
If looks could kill... the Oddsman would be still alive. Serina tried to glare at him, irrationally annoyed at the mocking undertone of his statement, but the glare lasted for half a second and had all the force of a thrown pebble before her shy nature and the Oddsman's smile got the better of her and she looked around in a pretense of keeping an eye out for danger. "You ever wonder why no one likes you?" she asked sarcastically a moment later, the vestiges of her annoyance fueling the question. As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt herself flush.
 
For a moment, the Oddsman lightened up. His 'smile' grew a bit warmer, and he replied, "Yup, but it's mainly my fault anyways, since I'm usually... nevermind." He had started out as if warming up, as if a real person for a moment, before he shut it down and grew distant again. "Told you, just use your aggravation to talk, and you'll be fine," he said instead, dryly and covering up his earlier moment of half-warmth, half-friendliness.
 
Serina glanced at the Oddsman, surprised at his moment of almost friendliness, but it was gone as soon as it came. The man confounded her, and as a scholar, when Serina was confounded by things, she studied them. Though she should probably only apply that thinking to inanimate objects as when she studied things, she usually cut them open and dumped chemicals on their insides. She doubted the Oddsman would appreciate being dissected in the name of science, no matter how nicely she asked. She tried to take his advice and dredge up some annoyance to retort to his statements, but as he wasn't directly doing anything to annoy her, she stayed silent and watched the landscape.
 
The Oddsman contemplated the term, 'Friend.' It was as alien to him as religion was to a scientist, who believed in rationality, and not faith. He thought about it, unconsciously urging his horse a little faster, crossing through town without any sign of anything or anyone. There were no bodies, or debris, and yet some houses were gone. Then, suddenly, he asked calmly, "And why did you come on this God-forsaken job?"
 
They had been riding in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts, and half paying attention to the ruined town around them, so Serina started slightly when the Oddsman spoke up again. "I-I really don't know," she replied, cursing the stutter in her voice while thinking back to the day she volunteered to go on the expedition. "I g-guess I wasn't thinking that much when I volunteered. Just wanted to see the world and...stuff," she finished weakly. Listening to her own reasoning, she realized the decision to join the expedition wasn't a thought out one, spurred on by a desire to prove to herself that she wasn't just a timid, shy herbalist, but looking back at everything she'd done so far on this trip, maybe she was just a timid, shy herbalist.
 
The Oddsman chuckles dryly, as if just to keep him from getting any lower in the mood spectrum. "Ya, I guess that happens. You wanted to see the world. I wanted to see more coin." He shakes his head, looking down for a moment, continuing. "Well, I guess we all kind of dug this hole, right? Only way out is to see if we can find something farther down. Still not too sure of yourself and your speech, hm? Need some talking lessons?" While at the first of this second part, he was bitter, regretful, then at the very last sentence, turned back to the usual him: a bit mocking and laughing, but it seemed more half-hearted now.
 
Serina briefly wondered if anyone would suspect her were the Oddsman to mysteriously suffer violent bouts of vomiting, then mentally chastised herself for thinking of poisoning him. She wasn't morally opposed to the use of poison on enemies, but the Oddsman, as much of a jerk as he could be, was still an ally. Speaking of being a jerk, Serina felt her annoyance flare up again at his mocking, though she could tell there wasn't as much spirit behind it as before. She managed to snap back a retort with some vehemence and no stutters. "Talking lessons would imply I had a weak grasp of grammar, which I do not, thank you very much."
 
"There we go, Serina, I was hoping you still had your unstuttery voice. It sounds much more pleasant when you're more sure of yourself, don't you think?", the Oddsman asked casually, with a hint of the usual mocking, but more conversational overall this time. He continued down the road or path, watching the houses and the road, the sky above and the rafters of housing.
 
Rydia nods as she looks to Ezekul, her eyes firmly going back to looking over what parts of the town she could see up in the tree, "Just be wary.. That thing could be here or even other threats.. Let's just hope we can make sense of all this and get out alive."
 
The moon gave the town of Dulemar an eerie aura to it. Night was just settling in as the group made it to Dulemar, and it would not be a surprise if there were second thoughts. Dulemar took the night and wore it well, every household or farm had a cartilaginous tone to it. All the life that used to be here was definitely drained by the warriors who had burned and pillaged this place. This town could have been very quaint if there were still people living here, and it would be a good place to settle after years of adventuring. There was a tavern, a festival every so often, and just enough excitement to not overwhelm anyone. The Dulemarian people reflected that in their daily lives back in Biltmore. The lower parts of Biltmore were almost like Dulemar, but with undertones of sadness and loss.

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There were many parts of Dulemar that looked of war. The tavern that the Oddsman had past was called "The Bespeckled Frog." It looked like it could fit a some travelers, but not enough to sustain a large group passing through. The inside of it at glance gave an image of old hope and fond memories. If you pictured it, you would see dancing with lights beaming through the windows to draw patrons in. Mug laid on the floor with beer stains around them. The thoughts of this town being ravaged was hard to imagine, you could tell by the architecture that this place was quiet and never had to deal with war and hardships. The wake up calls the people must have received must have been unbearable.

Overlooking the town Teran held his pack close to him. Jonathan was long gone and others were beginning to wander about so he needed a group with him. He walked over to Aben and put his hand on his shoulder. "We should begin to investigate, it would be wise if we moved on." Teran snapped at Rydia and Ezekul to follow along. Teran tied up the horses and walked into the town. He went a different way from The Oddsman fellow and ended up around the east side of town, where an orphanage was located.​
 
Serina didn't bother replying to the Oddsman, simply studying the abandoned town around her. It was almost beautiful, in an extremely eerie way. The houses and buildings were all abandoned, and creeping ivy covered every surface. It felt like a scene from a fairy tale, a fairy tale gone wrong where instead you of the peaceful, sleepy town int he middle of no where, you get the peaceful, dead town in the middle of no where. She wondered if there would be any corpses in the buildings, rotting and unmoved from the position they died in, then quickly dropped that train of thought, suppressing a shudder.
 
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