Siran put up his hood as he watched the crowds enter the inn. It would not bode well for him to be seen as a Drow, let alone at all. Tamris, his self appointed charge, was at the library still, looking at books. He wondered at what she could find fascinating.

Assuming it was safe, he walked down the path to the inn. But not before he felt a little hand in his pocket. He snatched it with leather gloved fingers and pulled it up. It was a little boy, no more than ten years old. The boy was tiny, undernourished. He squeeled.

"Put me down, mister! Put me down!"

"Don't do that again." the Drow warned in all to fluent common. "Or else next time I'll cut off your fingers."

The boy screamed. "Let me go! I dunt do nothing!" he started pulling away from Siran, but the Drow's grip was strong.

"Remember," Siran told him and let him go. The dark figure of the Drow stood there as he ran off. People who had watched the scene, started to break away and move on.

The scene was smaller than Siran percieved; he was still a stranger in this land. Instead of entering the inn, he stood and waited for his lover, Tamris.

Xylia sat on a bench outside of The Elfsong Tavern. She had watched the strange man walk up the street and to the front of The Tavern. She watched as the little boy tried to steal from the man, she shook her head. She knew that the little boy would not succeed.

As the terrified boy ran Xylia caught him in one arm. Her scarlet hood was still low on her face and all the boy could see were her piercing green eyes and her dark curls plummeting around her. Xylia whispered, "I know you are a good boy, yes? Just hungry." Xylia took her hand out from underneath her cloak and five gold pieces could be seen in her hand. This was probably more money than the boy's family could make in a year. Xylia placed them in the little boy's hand and closed his hand around it with her own, "Stealing is wrong. You must promise me never to do this again." The little boy shook his head fiercely and Xylia smirked, which could not be seen under her hood. The little boy scurried away. It was one of Xylia's few moments of compassion, one of her few.

As the little boy disappeared around the corner Xylia returned her gaze to the man once more.

She had just rounded the corner when she saw him meld into the shadows. Tamris grinned and stuffed her book furter under the nook of her arm.

"Are you coming?" she called quietly in Drow. "We need a room before it's full." She wandered inside, aware he was following even though she could not hear it.

"A room for two." she told the barkeeper in common. "Or two beds preferably."

"Aye, I got the rooms. Do you have the money?"

"What price is it?" She asked and laid a bag of money on the counter. The barkeeper counted it and nodded.

"Alright ya two. One room with two beds... second floor."

She nodded her thanks and took the keys. She would drop off her things and then come down. Siran, she knew, would stay up and sleep. Being a Drow, he would come down at night to prowl the streets with his darkvision, when the sunlight would not sear him.

She climbed upstairs, where the traffic was slower and easier. The room was on the left in the center of the hallway. the door slid open after the key's click, and she found herself in cozy inn room. Then she tossed the keys to Siran and put her book on the table.

"I'm going to explore." she told him. "You can sleep for tonight if you want." Without waiting for a reply she took of her chain armor and replaced it with leather. Then she hid two daggers in her boot, and a Drow dirk replaced her scimitar, Quicksilver, which hung at her side. She donned a black cloak, and tied her hair in a loose bun. Then she wandered out the door and back downstairs.

Minutes after Tamris left, Siran donned his own leather and replaced his rapier with a sword. He took his bow and a quiver of arrows from the back, and donned his hood once more. He would sleep later. He knew Tamris had good intentions, but he did not trust many people, and the stench of trouble ran though the air, thicker than fog.

There was a woman he had seen out in the yard after he had caught that boy. She looked to be a magic-user, but she ran with the stench as well...

That did not matter though; Siran found himself taking the back exit and walking silently around the building. He stopped when she was within sight, and stayed in the shadows to watch.

The man and a woman walked into The Tavern. She sat on the bench staring out at the city, darkness was beginning to fall.

Xylia smirked, she felt someone watching her. She could tell by the aura that it was the man from before, he did not trust her, and he had good reason, though she did not intend him or the woman any harm. She laughed aloud, amused greatly by the situation.

Xylia took of her scarlet hood revealing the entirety of her face. More of her dark curls plummeted down past her waist. She whispered quietly, though she knew that the man could hear, " Why are we lurking in the shadows? That is no way to greet a lady." As she said this she did not turn around, she kept looking straight ahead and then directed her gaze up at the sky, watching for the first stars to appear.

A light wind began to blow and Xylia's hair danced in waves around her. The moon was full tonight and it could be seen to start rising in the horizon.

Siran smirked when the whispers reached him. Ah,he thought. A gypsy. Tamris had told him something about them, but he could not remember.

"Indeed." he returned. "Does caution not come before manners in your land? What about with the gypsies? If people fear you, then caution is well advised."

With the grin still on his face, he stepped out of the shadows into the lengthening light. Soon he would be able to remove his hood.

Xylia laughed softly when she heard the man's words. She was becoming very cautious of others herself. She used to be open to all people. Xylia felt a heaviness in her heart when she though of how pure and joyful she used to be. Those days of frolic and friendliness were long over.

Xylia spoke softly "Your words are wise. The lands are becoming dangerous, strange things are occuring." Xylia paused for a moment and a far away look could be seen in her eyes. After a few moments more she began to speak once again, "As for people fearing me they did not at one time, but.... Times are changing and so have I."

Darkness had completely taken the street, laughter drifted from the tavern. The full moon was fully visible and the stars twinkled overhead.

"What is your name strange? If you are willing to tell me, that is."

Tamris came down the pathway when she saw Siran speaking to the woman. Gyspy woman. She fell in step behind the Drow and listened quietly as they spoke. Wisely enough, he had not yet removed his hood.

"She is a gypsy." Tamris told him quietly in the Drow tongue. "Be careful."

The Drow nodded to Tamris; it was barely visible. "Life is a quilt with it's pattern mismatched." he told the woman." As it changes, so shall we."

Darkness was now his cowl; Siran barely acknowledged the stars and the moon, but he knew better than to remove his hood in public. Once he had made the mistake, and it took Tamris the better part of a fortnight to convince the magistrate to release him; precious time had been wasted. People were not so friendly to the Drow these days.

"I am Siran-Belamn." he told her. "And you?"

Xylia looked behind Siran-Belamn. The woman had returned, she spoke in a tongue Xylia could not understand but her aura revealed her feelings as plainly to Xylia as they would be if they were written on her face.

"Young woman, there is no reason to be wary of me. I hold no harmful intentions." Xylia paused for a moment and inclined her head, "As to who I am I am called Xylia, The Maiden of The Rose and Gypsy."

Xylia sighed inwardly gazing up at the stars again. The constellation Oni was visible, her favourite out of all in the sky. It was becoming a bit cold out but Xylia paid no mind. She brushed a few rogue curls from her face, revealing the scarlet tattoo on her arm that twisted and crawled from her shoulder down to her wrist. It broke off at her wrist into five different branches continuing on her palm to her finger tips.

She spoke softly once more, "You are very wise Siran-Belamn. If only the people of this world held an ounce of the wisdom you have shown me in the last few moments. Then maybe the world would not be tearing itself apart."

Tamris watched Xylia suspiciously and loosened her hidden daggers. She may have no harmful intentions, but years of abuse had taught her to watch out anyway. She nodded anyway.

"I am Talice-Azalea," she told Xylia. "Tamris to most."

She looked up in the sky and noticed the intensity of the stars: it was night. The air was becomming brisk, and she wanted dinner badly. Seeing the sudden uncomfortable silence, she inquired: "Do you have a room in the Elfsong?"

Xylia looked at Tamris and smiled. "I have been staying at this Tavern for almost a month. It has been home for a while, though it will not remain that way for much longer."

Xylia rose off the bench and shouldered her backpack. She started to walk toward the Tavern's door when she was about half way up the path she turned around and said, "Please, I would be honoured to buy you your evening meal, both of you. That is, if you will allow me."

Siran had been about to ask the same. He was ready to agree, but when he saw Tamris's eyes widen, he hesitated.

"You do not have to eat," he whispered to her in Drow. "If you are uncomfortable."
When he saw Tamris shake her head, he agreed anyway.

"It would be a pleasure, Maiden of the Rose," he smirked at the name. It was one of the few the he found to like. "Talice?" he called Tamris by her Drow name.

Xylia smiled after she heard that they agreed. Tamris still seemed nervous but it was understandable. She walked through the door and saw that the Tavern was fairly crowded. Xylia was not concerned with finding a table.

She walked up to the front bar and asked for Olitik. The owner of The Tavern and Xylia exchanged a few soft words and he motioned for a couple of his sons to pull a table out of the private dinning hall to the corner of the tavern where the fire place was located. Xylia smiled warmly and said, "Thank you my dear Olitik. It is much appreciated." Olitik nodded and went back to cleaning glasses.

Xylia sat down on one of the chairs facing the fire place. The barmaid approached and waited for their orders. Xylia spoke, " Order anything you wish. This Tavern is famous for its food. It's rumoured to be the best in the whole City of Talas."

"I'm coming." she told him. Then to Xylia, "Yes, it would be a pleasure... I'm sure." She returned the smile and at the same time noticed Siran's mood. He wasn't always this talkative. Normally people associated him as a psychopath, but... she shrugged and followed him into the inn.

Inside she quickly took inventory of who was there: it was busy. People hussled about, and laughter and ale were free. She cast a sidelong glance at Siran, hoping he would not remove his hood. It would be most unwise.

"No meat for me." she told the barmaid. "Some salad, please... and an ale to go with it."

Xylia gazed at the flames and then realized the barmaid was looking at her, impatiently waiting for her order. She thought for a moment and then responded, "Hmm... Stew and bread please... With the strongest Dwarven Ale you have.

She looked around the Tavern. It was unusually busy tonight. She could see a bard setting up in the corner opposite them. There would be music tonight. She hoped that it would be better than last week, that woman had murdered Elven Songs of Legend. Though the people here loved them, because they didn't know any better.

She noticed that Siran-Belamn had not once removed the hood of his cloak. She did not mind though, she had known many people that preferred to stay in the shadows.

Xylia took off her scarlet cloak and hung it over the back of her chair. She was wearing a pink, sleeveless, corseted dress with many petticoats. The dress flared around her in waves. Many people eyed the three companions at the table oddly but Xylia was used to the stares and she did not even notice.

The Drow watched the inn for any trouble. He needed none tonight, especially if they were to leave tomorrow. There had been enough people on their trail, and they did not need more.

He watched Xylia take off her cloak. With the darkness he was already beginning to slip into his darkvision, and the pink did not contrast well. He wondered if all gypsies dressed so flamboyantly.

"Bread and meat." he told the barmaid without thanks. "Water to drink." Ale disgusted him, and he wondered briefly about Tamris. She usually did not drink ale.

The bard's music suddenly filled the room, but Siran found it to be useless racket... he had no ear for it.

He started in alarm as a huge man, perhaps a northern barbarian, came over to the table. He was clearly drunk, and burped. Siran drew up stiffly and addressed him. "Vendui', what do you want?"
_____________________
(I don't suppose someone else will join?)

Xylia looked at the man coming up to the table. Her face held a look of disgust. The man ignored Siran completely and walked up to Xylia and began to talk in a drunken slur, " El-l-l-o Xyliea.. You know thatsh my offer shtill shtands...."

Xylia rose to her feet and put both of her palms outwards, pushing the man back forcefully with telekinesis. The man stumbled away, "Jacob, you are disgusting. Just because Lance isn't around anymore doesn't mean you aren't in trouble when you come near me! Now, leave."

Xylia sat back down. Otilik was escorting the man off of the premises. Xylia looked at her two companions sympathetically. "I am very sorry about that."

After this incident the people in the bar looked at the three of them with even more bizarre looks, if that was possible.

Tamris nearly gagged at the sight of the drunk, and was very glad when he was escorted away. She wiped her mouth on a napkin. "Thanks for the dinner," she told Xylia. "We are grateful." she looked around at some of the people who watched her. Strangely, she did not remember many of them from her first survey. She wondered where they had come from.

"We are travelling right now, and curious if you might have any information worth sharing."

Xylia tossed a couple of gold coins on the table and then slowly gazed around The Tavern. It was becoming more crowded by the second and a good number of the people often looked in their direction.

Xylia returned her gazed to Siran-Belamn and Tamris and smiled, " I would be happy to share any information that I know with you. Though, I believe this isn't the best place for it. If you would like, we could go to Otilik's Private Tea Room. He'd be more than happy to allow us the use of it."

Xylia smiled and awaited a response as she thought, "I wonder what information Tamris is curious about. I can still feel that she does not trust me. Though, I respect her wariness. I hope I can help them, I know much of the events happening in lands near and far."