Faraway Places

[Erys]

There was an eerieness about Qui to Erys; an unnamable feeling of despair that seemed to permeate every particle of her being. It was as if the very air she was breathing contained a wave of negative thoughts. It was quite unnerving for one as untravelled and unaccustomed to other places as Erys. True, she did want to explore and visit faraway places, but this just seemed a little too faraway. But, with the stubborness of a child unwilling to sacrifice for anything, she was resigned to find out more about this place before turning tail and running home.

Erys took in a deep breath, wary of the ash that had permanently settled all around, and gazed around. There were few buildings that did not look like private residences, and one among them looked to be a tavern, or mayhaps an inn. She did not relish the idea of sleeping outside in a strange land with creatures that she knew nothing of, and hoped that it was an inn and not just a bar for the locals. The people that she had seen in Qui didn't seem to be the type that would enjoy the drunken brawls and laughter that Erys had seen in every other tavern she had been to anyway. They were far too somber for that.

Despite her age, she leaned on the staff she carried as if it were simply a walking stick. The hood of her robes was down, and she let them hang back, revealing her shirt and pants. She didn't want to seem like she was hiding anything or as if she were trying to be menacing. A fight was the last thing she was looking for. Staff in hand, she approached the building she had selected and deemed an inn.

Inside, the place was just as dreary as the outside had been. Wooden walls had faded to a greyish color, and most of the boards seemed warped. Nothing adorned the walls, and the floor was bare. There was a counter in one corner, however, with a man standing behind it. There were a few people scattered about in the room, seated at round tables. Erys walked up to the counter and swallowed hard against the knot that had formed in her throat. "Excuse me, sir?"

He looked up at her with an apathetic look, but said nothing.

Erys tried to smile at him, but thought that the expression probably came out resembling a grimace. "Ah, are there rooms for rent here?"

A nod.

"Food and drink, too, then?"

Another nod.

She sighed slightly with relief, then ordered food a drink. Erys carried the items to an empty table and sat down. If all of the people here were as unwilling to speak as the bartender fellow, she would have a hard time learning anything about this place.

[Yeathan The Mad]

The door to the tavern exploded open and a young man tumbled through the door. As he stumbled to get up, another figure shot through and landed atop him. The two wrestled for a minute, the younger man getting pummeled and thrashed by the second. Finally one of the bouncers grabbed the man off of the other, who was now visible as a boy in his late teens.
"What's the problem here!?" The bouncer asked, holding up the attacker by the scruff of his neck. The man was odd looking, but not so much for Fel Tarn. His skin had a gray quality to it, like the ash had settled into his skin. His eyes were two pools of darkness, and he looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.
"The whosit took my shinys!" It took the boy a few seconds to realize he was the "whosit" the thing was talking about.
"I didn't take anything from him! I was just walking in and he flew out of the shadows and hurled me into the bar! I swear!" The young boy pleaded, blood now dripping from his nose. The bouncer looked back in forth, trying to decide who to believe. The young boy, or this pitiful little creature.
He dropped the little creature and turned a steely gaze to him. "Did he still your money?" He asked like a parent to a small child. The creature didn't say anything for a moment, just looked around the room quizzically. "Well, did he?" The man asked again. The creature suddenly started to shake its mottled head violently.
"Then why did you attack me!" The boy screamed. Every eye in the room was now on the creature. He looked as if he was going to cry. And he did.
"Yeathan didn't mean to hurt the whosit!" He screamed in a shrill voice. "But me is so hungry, me just wanted his shinys!" He continued. The bouncer started to frown and shook his head.
"Well Im going to have to make you leave then." The bouncer said. Yeathan crumpled to the floor and began crying quite loudly. The bouncer let out a sigh, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"No! Noooo! Helps me!" He roared as the bouncer chucked him out into the cold night.

[Erys]

Erys stood up quickly as the young boy and the creature tumbled through the tavern door. She clutched her staff, momentarily forgetting that she had decided to hold it as a walking stick, and watched the fight with wide eyes. As the fight was stopped and the conversation between them and the bouncer progressed, she wasn't sure whom she felt more sympathy for - the boy that had been attacked for no reason, the creature that was so pathetic looking, or the bouncer that had to deal with the ridiculous situation.

She frowned as grey-skinned one was tossed out. Even if he had attacked the boy, she believed the rough treatment he received from the bouncer was uncalled for. To Erys, it seemed that it was child-like, almost, and had the same lack of control that most children did.

Her sympathy caught, Erys picked up a piece of bread that remained from her meal and loosened her tight grip on the staff. She could remember her family telling her how kindness would get her killed one day, that she shouldn't involve herself in so much. Perhaps the affair hadn't been any of her business, but she could at least try to help. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to do otherwise.

Decided on her course of action, Erys carried the bread outside, where she spotted Yeathan nearby.

"Excuse me," she said, addressing him. Closer up to him than she had been inside, Erys realized that she had no idea what he was. It was too late for her to back out for fear of the unknown, though, and she tried her hardest to keep the fear out of her voice. "Are you alright?" Remembering his claim of hunger, she extended the hand that held the bread. "I.. I brought this. You said you were hungry."

[Yeathan The Mad]

Yeathan lay face down in the middle of the street, his contorted body not moving. As he lay there, a thousand different thoughts drifted through his mind, but he could not focus on one. So for many minutes he lay there, fighting to get a hold of his own psyche, when a voice pulled him back into the real world.

“Excuse me, are you alright?” he heard a soft voice say. He rolled over oddly, his arms flapping at his side and his legs wobbling. He looked up to see a beautiful young woman standing over his. Light brown hair fell over her shoulders and he hand was wrapped around a gnarled wooden staff. Yeathans jaw fell open and he began to mumble something.

“I.. I brought this. You said you were hungry.” She young lady said, extending her hand and offering a large piece of bread to the odd-looking man. Yeathan wasn’t sure what to do. In the little contact he had had with people, he had never been offered something without being expected to give something in return. Not wanting to upset his new friend, he dug through his grimy pockets and pulled something out.
Yeathan extended his arm parallel to hers, attempting to mimic her exact movement, which he did extremely well. He opened his hand to reveal a large clump of mud with many earthworms and bugs crawling in and out of it. He attempted to let out a smile, as he had seen traders do many times in situations like this, but it came out something like a psychotic grin. Not sure of what to do next, he waited.

[Erys]

Eyes wide, Erys exchanged the bread for the mud before really thinking about it. In the state he was currently in, he seemed harmless enough, but she had seen him on the young man. She certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of that. So, she took the mud into her left hand.

Erys lowered her hand to her side, trying to forget the bugs and worms crawling around. Even though she had called herself a druid before, she still held the stereotypical girlish fear of things that crawled and creeped. Looking down at the man, she saw his psychotic grin. He's just different, try to be normal...

She took a deep breath, then smiled to help herself retain composure. "Do you need help up?" she inquired, suddenly remembering his position on the ground. She held out her right arm slightly, should he need it.

Oh, damnit, what if he has something else strange in his hands...? The thought almost caused her to laugh, but she kept up the smile. Unwilling to provoke his anger, she stood with one hand out, the other other holding mud, and feeling like a fool.

[Yeathan The Mad]

Yeathan made the exchange, quickly gobbling up the vile food in an attempt to be nice. He saw the young girl drop the mud to the ground, but he just assumed she was letting it sit there to attract more flavors, that’s what Yeathan always did with his food.
Smiling to his new friend, he took a step forward, and the woman took a step back. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure out why she did it, and then something in his mind clicked. His face contorted oddly, and his lip lower lip began to pout.
“You….You think Yeathan is hideous!” He wailed, turning tail and running into a back alley crying.

[Erys]

Erys watched him eat, and it looked like he was telling the truth when he said he was hungry. After he finished and he took a step towards her, she backed up unconsciously. When he turned and ran down an alley howling, she slapped her hand against her forehead. Perhaps she didn't think him beautiful, but that was to be expected. She wasn't even the same race as him.

She took a quick glance back towards the tavern, meaning to go back inside. This wasn't her problem, she didn't have to deal with this. Before she could even turn around though, she found herself walking towards the alley that Yeathan had ran into. I am going to get myself killed with this...

Disgruntled with her too gentle and kindly conscience, Erys peered down the alley. It was darker down it, of course, and while she couldn't just walk away, she didn't feel the need to be in the dark with this creature of ferocity.

"I don't think you're hideous," she called out. He was certainly strange looking to her, but she wasn't concerned with appearances at the moment. "Would you just come out of there? I'd like to talk with you... Please?"

[Yeathan The Mad]

Yeathan peeked out from his hiding place when he heard the gilrs melodious voice.

"I don't think you're hideous, would you just come out here, I'd like to talk with you...Please?" There was a brief silence, then his voice echoed off the walls off the dank alley.

"No! Yous is just going to laugh at me! If you wants to talk yous come in here where you cant see Yeathan! If you wont come in, then yous go away!" He screamed.

[Erys]

Great. Just terrific, she complained to herself.

Erys knew she'd lose sleep over this for weeks if she didn't try to do something for this creature. As much as she'd rather not do it, she stepped into the gloomier part of the alley. She was still at the opening, though, and the better lit, open area was only a few paces away.

"Alright, look. I'm in the alley." Her voice was still somewhat raised, for she lacked the ability to see in the dark and didn't know where he was. She could see some shapes, but not details. "I'm not going to laugh, promise. I didn't laugh before." Straining her eyes, Erys tried to find some sign of movement from the other.

This was incredible. She hadn't even been in Qui for a full day, and was already getting herself into strange situations.

[Yeathan The Mad]

Yeathan bent over slowly, his entire body was now hanging upside down. His feet were wrapped around a small preciface several meteres up. His dark form was leering behind the woman as she peered into the darkness.

"I'm not going to laugh, promise. I didn't laugh before."

Yeathans hands shot out, wrapping his arms under hers and then interlocking them over her stomach. Which amazing strength and pulled the woman upwards, pulling both their bodies up onto the ledge. She had tried to let out a scream but the force of his hands around her stomach knocked the wind out of her. He threw her up onto the tiny ledge and moved his face close to hers, close enough for her vision to see him. He put a skinny finger to his pursed lips and whispered "shhhh".

[Erys]

Erys was still looking forward whenever Yeathan grabbed her from above. Her scream came out silent, for she had no breath to even scream with. Her breath came rushing back into her lungs harshly, and she held it there, staring at Yeathan for a moment. At his command to 'shh,' she released it and raised one eyebrow.

She was shaking slightly from fear, but tried to remain calm. Thinking of seeing the other attacking the boy earlier didn't help, but she couldn't help imagining herself being in the same position. Closing her eyes, Erys saw her family, and wished she was back home. Upon opening her eyes, she said a silent prayer, even though she had never believed in or worshipped any particular god or goddess.

Despite her wish to keep the other in a good mood, she spoke, however quietly. "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?!"

[Yeathan The Mad]

Yeathan pushed his finger into her lips mid-sentance, this time he was serious. His expression had gone from frightened to intense in just a fracyion of a second. He silently pointed a finger down into the alley where Erys had just been. He wasn't sure if she could tell, but he saw it plain as day.

Several figures were creeping towards the spot where she had just been. One was brandishing a dagger, and the other two had had small clubs. Another was standing nonchanlantly in the entrance to the alley, in case she would have ran. They obviously hadn't seen Yeathan pull her up, as they were still moving towards the entrance of the alley.

"Yous must be careful! Those whosist will kills you!"

[Erys]

Erys looked down to where Yeathan pointed. She could see them moving about and holding weapons. Looking back at the strange man, she was certain he was serious. Why anyone would want to kill her was beyond her though. After only around two hours in Qui it seemed impossible that she had already gathered enemies serious enough to kill.

Frowning, Erys sighed. She had been called insane for wanting to travel, and now she believed it. Remembering her life with her family in Siphril, she could not ever recall being physically threatened, or even her parents being physically threatened. After a thought of the druid she had met there, though, and she again remembered the reason for her travels, and the people below didn't seem quite as bad.

They still held weapons, however, and Erys kept her voice as quiet as possible when she spoke. "Who are they?"

[Yeathan The Mad]

"Who are they?"

Yeathan looked back at her, then back at the thugs.

"Dey is thugs for the Guild." He said, his voice little more than a whisper. He knew what she was going to ask, so he answered her next questioned before it left her mouth.

"Da guild is very strong. They decide who come in Qui, and who leave. If Guild not like you, you not be alive for very long." As he finished, the three men moved quickly into the spot where Erys was, nearly slamming into each other when they noticed she wasn't there. They called the fourth thug over and began looking around for any sign of the girl.

"You new here. They was going to kidnap you, maybe hurt you. I doesn't want them to hurt you."

[Erys]

It was a foreign idea to Erys, to be hunted down or for some to attempt a kidnapping of herself. She had grown up with simple people, and that just did not happen there. A certain feeling of fear and anxiety washed over as she watched the Guild thugs move about in the darkness below.

Just as possible, though, was that they were looking for the man beside her. She looked over at him, and the look in his eyes dispelled this suspicion. Possible, but she couldn't know for sure. For now, she was forced to take his word for it. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't even know his name, or if he had one, but also realized that this wasn't exactly the most opportune moment for introductions. That could definitely wait. He seemed to have been referring to himself as 'Yeathan,' but she couldn't be sure.

"You new here. They was going to kidnap you, maybe hurt you. I doesn't want them to hurt you," she heard him say, then tried to smile and muttered a thanks.

Feeling the discomfort of being on a small ledge and up so high, she asked yet another question. "How long do you think they'll stay and search?"