[h1][color=fff200]Heoron[/color][/h1]

The city of Maceron came into view as a man clad in dark robes crested the hill, leading a horse by the reins and carrying a tall wooden staff in his right hand. The blue-skinned individual stopped on the hill and looked out below him toward the city with smoke issuing from its center while simultaneously gathering his robes closer to himself in the cold air. Empty road was all that lay between him and the city now; good thing too, as he was running low on road rations. With a slight tug, the young Ogre pulled the horse along down the hill and down the last stretch of road toward his destination once more. After the trio began their descent, it was a short walk to the city. 

When he came to the gates, Heoron found them closing up and the guards laughing hysterically over something or other. In the midst of their laughing, the guards waved Heoron on. Confused, he nodded and walked through the gates.

[i]”I wonder what has them so indisposed,”[/i] Heoron thought to himself as he entered the industrial gem of a city.

[i]”Perhaps it has something to do with the man in black with the cat. I saw him pass through the gates before us,”[/i] a different voice answered within Heoron’s mind.

On the outside Heoron appeared to be walking along and minding his own business, but in reality he was communicating telepathically with the floating blue orb of fire located between the two slopes at the top of his staff. Heoron directed his gaze to the man in question, watching as he made his way down the street with an obese Siamese cat clinging to his shoulders.

[i]”That man’s no bigger than a twig. That cat’s going to snap him in half.”[/i]

A short chuckle entered Heoron’s mind from the Will-o-Wisp as the young Ogre continued on his way down the street through the bustling crowds. After he managed to navigate through the crowd to the stable, Heoron scanned the scene and only now noticed the second column of smoke rising in the distance amongst the snow falling from the dark clouds overhead. From that and the crowd bustling around him frantically, Heoron pieced together that the city was preparing for some sort of attack. After paying to stable his horse, he turned to find a guard to find out if his conclusion was correct when he heard the tail end of a conversation nearby between a guard and a Fairfolk man.

“... iron boulders to bring down the walls of the impenetrable city, siah,” the guard spoke over the den caused by the crowd.

“Excellent, then. I sure hope you’re right,” the Fairfolk man replied.

Heoron started toward the pair when he heard a commotion down the street. When he looked, he saw a centaur patting the hindquarters of cow. Shaking his head to clear it of that image and what it could possibly mean, the young mage turned back toward the pair, but they had vanished when he had his back turned toward the centaur and the cow. Heoron looked around before noticing a trail of lettuce and began following it before Ithenul spoke up.

[i]"Heoron, look over there. Down the alley to your left."[/i]

The Ogre followed the direction and redirected his gaze toward the alley. A guard wearing a mask and dust cloth to obscure his face broke away from the crowd and slipped into the alley, laying his halberd down and looking as though he did not want to be followed.

[i]"How strange. As a guard he should be heading in a direction to help, and he looks like he doesn't want to be followed especially wearing a mask like that. Let's find out why."[/i]

After the Will-o-Wisp agreed, Heoron slipped through the crowd and into the alley, adopting a lighter step so the man would be none the wiser that he was being followed. When he saw the guard heading toward a door, Heoron entered his mind and brought forth the feeling of loneliness he had felt at Wilem's passing and cast an illusion about himself, a dark purple cloud swirling around the length of his body briefly before dispersing. As the guard stepped through the door, Heoron watched from right behind him unseen thanks to his illusion masking him as a stretch of wall.