With Dorian's guidance, the group finds themselves in the nearest town by late morning. It's your basic small, average town, with a tavern, a few merchant shops, a town hall, and a smattering of houses. There are a fair number of people walking around the town at this time of day, and they don't take much notice of the new travelers - apparently this town sees a lot of wandering adventurers.

---

Silvia looks around. "Good, civilization again. I was beginning to worry we'd be stuck in the wilderness forever."

"Yeah," Leala agreed monosyllabicly. She didn't want to say it, but she did sort of like the woods. She used to go into the forest near her home when she was little, to get away from everything and play pretend. Leala started looking around the town, wondering what they would do here.

Chance stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "Man it feels good to be back in a place that has a tavern and plenty of drinks to go around." Just mentioning taverns and drinks makes Chance subconsciously reach for his coin bag and with a reassuring jingle he knew he still had a few drinks worth left. His hands moved over to where his dagger was sheathed. Chance pulled it out and noticed there was quite a number of scratches and dents upon it. "Oh man, I don't know how much longer this knife is going to last. How’s the rest of your guy's weapons?"

"Although well-made, this sword probably belonged to my grandfather," Leala said. She felt that with the elves extended lifespans, she really didn't need to elaborate further on its condition. But then again, she didn't know if she could afford another. Her hand also went to her own money pouch, weighing it thoughtfully.

Silvia lifts her skirts to reveal her own weapon. She takes it from her garter and considers it. "I'm pretty sure I'm ready for something... bigger." She raises an eyebrow and smiles with the attitude that she can't help being as sexy as she is.

Chance looked to Silvia and smiled mischeviously at her last statement. "Well, our weapons may last for the next few fights, but it would probably be in our interest to improve them or if we have to, buy some that are better.." He looked to Dorian and asked, "Do you know this village well? Know any weaponsmiths around here?"

Dorian nodded. "There is one, yes. His prices are reasonable, and workmanship passable. Looks like you could use a new blade, too, Rosie."

Rosie tried to look indignant, and protested that all her axe needed was sharpening, but she knew it was true. The thing was probably on its last metaphorical legs.

Leala frowned a little, but hey, if they were going to continue to eat on the road with only a few stops in towns, she could probably look for a new sword. "So are we going to do this today or...?" she trailed off.

The group follows Dorian to the weapons shop. Few patrons are at this particular shop, but they come in all shapes and sizes, and look like typical adventurers. A young halfling woman holding a battleaxe up for inspection stops when she sees the newest group enter. "Chance?" she says, her voice cracking with excitement.

Chance looks at who said his name and immediately his face started to pale. Quickly turning around and jumping between Leala and Silvia to hide. "Wait guys, lets go somewhere else for weapons. I heard that this place over charges alot." It was very clear that his voice was starting to shake and the normal calm that Chance presented was no where to be found.

"Heeeey, this one doesn't wanna kill ya!" Leala said amiably. "Can't be that bad. Sounds happy, in the least. Might give us a discount." It's not that the tanned elf doesn't notice Chance's discomfort, but it definitely doesn't compare to the amount of misfortune the guy has given them over the course of this little adventure.

"Chance! It is you!" The halfling girl runs over to Chance, axe still in hand.

Silvia steps out of her way. She's not sure if the girl is about to hug Chance or slice off his head, but she'd rather not be too close in either situation.

The girl does, in fact, go for a hug. "Oh, Chance, I knew you'd come for me!"

Leala frowned. Something about this situation seemed familiar. ...hadn't Chance mentioned leaving a girl at some point in his life? She grinned wickedly. So glad they could be reunited, she thought, stepping back like Silvia to be better able to watch the situation unfold.

Chance, with his back to the hafling, had his eyes wide open, desperately trying to think of a way to get out of his predicament. Once she was about to give him a hug, he turned around and feigned a surprised look on his face. Accepting the hug, the second she couldn't see his face, anyone could see that he had the oh shit look. Of course when the hug was over, the smile replaced his previous look. "Hey! Lindy, it has certainly been a long time. How have you been? I know it has been a while, but we really don't have much time; my party and I are looking for new weapons." Chance looked to his party and without alerting Lindy, silently told them to help him get out of this situation, and almost pleading look.

"Weapons?" The girl now looks at the rest of his group. She eyes the three women carefully. Leala and Silvia don't seem to bother her too much, but she gives Rosie a dirty look before returning to the conversation. "What do you need weapons for? Oh! Chance, you're not going to battle my father for my honor, are you? You're not going to force him to give his blessing for our relationship, are you? ARE YOU?"

"Are you?" Leala echoed. As amusing as this was, she wanted to get her sword sometime today. Plus, he probably wouldn't give them the map or remaining information on the Rusiel if he was detained.

Chance hid his nervous chuckle, though it took all of his skills to try to keep a calm face. After taking a second to carefully think how to respond to that question, Chance placed his hands on his hip to look heroic, at least long enough until he can find a way to escape this horrific situation. "We're actually off to find a treasure. I don't know if I'm going back there for a while." No longer suppressing his nervous laugh Chance ended, or hoped to end the conversation. "Well, it's been a blast seeing you, but we best be off for those weapons. Have a good day!" With that, he bowed his head towards Lindy and started to walk past her, praying to whichever god would give him mercy and take him away from this town as soon as possible.

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The Rusiel
Rusiel Characters