"Bye, Chunk! Be back soon!," Tara waved at the stables where a massive animal was being lead out of sight as she ran through the city gates. That same feeling she got when she left the treehouse in her wake returned when she crossed the border of the forest and it was back now. She looked up at the inside of the wall absently and then out at the sprawl of tightly clustered buildings and crowd of people near the entrance. She marveled at the sights and noise and wonderful smells and how strange the cobblestones felt on her mostly bare feet. A smile formed on her face. How could she feel so free, so excited and so nervous all at the same time. She had been here before, of course. Selling skins, furs, and taking contracts for various jobs to earn some gold, then spending that gold on supplies and tools, but this time was different. This time was final. She was leaving home. Leaving her forest, her Nema, the treehouse, the main roads, the Lydian country, and Lenaya, the only lands she had ever known, for what would probably be a long time. She couldn't stay forever. Something was urging her out into the world. She couldn't stay cloistered in one spot forever. She was a woman now! Her Nema had said so.

Tara only hoped she wouldn't be hindered or left uninvited or found unworthy to go on the journey. Some travelers on the road had told her about it last week. Her Nema had protested and argued against it. But in the end, the wonder got to Tara and she would not be controlled! Now if only she could remember the name of the meeting place. The color yellow seemed fresh in her mind. "The Yellow... Something..." She would know it if she saw it! But for now, with no name and no knowledge of the city other than the market and the blacksmith, she wandered aimlessly. Part of her began to wonder if she had made a mistake.

After about half an hour had passed she found herself in a much too quiet part of the city that was more small houses than any sort of place for a tavern or a shop. Maybe the meeting place was a house? No. That didn't seem right. The travelers had said it was a tavern. Hadn't they?

"Hey! Hey!" she yelled when she saw a city guard turn onto the street, "Hey, I need to find a tavern!"

She ran up to the armored man who gave her a confused look.

"A tavern? Well, there's at least a dozen on this side of town alone. Can't be too hard," he said.

"Just need one, sir," Tara said, "It's got a name. I know it does. Just can't... The yellow something? Or gold maybe?"

"Not ringin' any bells for me, little lady," the guard shrugged, "More than likely, you mean the Gilded Trader. It's three blocks back the way you came on the main street."

"Fine," Tara huffed, "I'll just check them all."

She turned on her heel and started back-tracking.

Back on the main street she asked directions of one more of the locals who managed to point her in the right direction. The tavern was full to bursting with travelers, merchants, working girls, and chatty locals. A lot of people had come to go on the journey. Really a lot. Though none of them looked like guides, or mercenaries, or fighters of any sort. Something was wrong here. She awkwardly waded through the crowd, watching her heavily laden back pack, keeping her toes out of the way of boots and ducking elbows and bodies that came her way. She had never been in a tavern before.

"Hey, cutie!" an elderly man with several missing teeth got in her face, "Nice tattoos! Where'd you get them?"

Tara simply froze and looked up at him with huge eyes before making a sort of horrified squeaking noise and ducking behind a waitress. She squeezed her way to the wall of the establishment as fast as she could. This was the wrong place. But after sticking to the wall and carefully making her way to the door she slid by a large, mismatched pair of message boards covered in announcements, wanted posters and advertisements. She looked through them seeing if there was anything useful.

"There!" she gasped out loud.

She snatched one of the fliers from the board and shuffled her way up to the bar. These patrons were crazy and drunk and she didn't trust any of them to help her. Once there she stood on tip-toes and threw her arms over the bar, which hit her high on the chest, thrusting the flier at one of the bartenders.

"Hey! Where is this?" she jabbed the now crumpled and ripped parchment.

"The Golden Guar?" the barkeep frowned, "Down the main way, then two blocks south after you get to contract office. Why would you want to go there though? That place is a dive for mercenaries, thugs and bad people. You can buy anything you need here, sweety. What can I get you?"

"What? Heh! I'm not going to buy anything," Tara giggled.

The swiftness with which she found herself face first in the road outside of the tavern door was absolutely stupefying. People stared at her and the men who had thrown her out yelled at her, but she quickly and stubbornly picked herself up. She dusted off her skirts and pulled her fur hood off her head where it had fallen. Her bare knees were scraped up, but it was no matter. She glanced up the road where the barkeep had said she should go and started running.

By the time she reached the contract office she was panting a little. She didn't need to run, but she had already been going around in circles and wasting time and she didn't want to miss anything. Damn. This road was a lot longer than she thought it was. Her feet skidded over the stones as she rounded the corner too fast. There it was! She could see the sign from where she was. It was small, but it hung out over the street and she could see the tell-tale glint of the worn gold paint. Tara didn't slow down until she neared the door. She jogged to a walk and straightened herself up as much as she could before opening the door just a crack and peering in. Her mouth dropped open. She could not believe what she was seeing.

She threw open the door and stood there, just taking it all in. These people were all armed, some of the armored, all of them like nobody she had ever seen before and they all had friends. Amazing, exotic, beautiful friends. Just like she had back at home! Her eyes darted quickly between the adorable little white reptile, the curious owl, the beautiful wolf, the hulking ape and finally the long, graceful, snake-like cat. That last one forced a huge grin and a short burst of astonished laughter from her. Where did they all come from!?

"Kid, are you going in or what?" someone grumbled.

She snapped her attention upward and was met with a pair of bright yellow eyes looming over her. The very tall, thin creature leaned on the doorway above her and glared down. He was hunched and dark, but she quickly recognized his kind. The fur and the long ears gave it away. Essang. Not exactly rare in Lenaya, but not common either. Truth be told they rather scared her.

"S-sorry, sir!" she hustled in and jumped into the first chair available. It was somewhat far from the others. Too nervous to move again, she looked to the large woman with the big sword and her pet as much as she could without staring and squirmed from time to time.

The Essang had to stoop somewhat to get through the door and couldn't fully straighten up inside the tavern. He limped by her gracefully and she could hear him mumbling something under his breath. What exactly he said, she couldn't tell. He sat down at the bar and after one irritated swish of his tail, tapped the bar twice with a claw. 

"Toss a raw egg and some firesalts into it," he growled, "Sobriety is overrated."