"You... You seriously wish to do this without any reward?" The old man grasped Arufi's hands, shaking them rather vigourously. "May the blessings of all the gods be upon you!  And... And I assure you, gallant young Masalan," He repeated the gesture to Jolokia, who gleefully shook back, "I assure you that I shall buy you any meal you wish if you bring back my daughter!"

"Any... Meal...?" Jolokia didn't need to be told twice, although she had to stop for a moment to wipe the drool off her chin.  Any meal!  That means she could have not only both the ribeye and the hotpot, but... But dessert too!  There was no way she was going to turn down this quest! "Alright!  Let's go, tiny Nem person!"

[hr]

The eastern borders of Akerfield somehow seemed even more deserted than the rest of town, as though people were actively avoiding being in the shadow of Crystal Mountain.  Despite the name, it seemed to be made of the same kind of rock as most mountains, although apparently the name was a loose translation of the old elvish name for it.  Supposedly, the ancient empire of the High Elves used to have a settlement here, which was another reason why the townsfolk tended to avoid getting too close to it.  But as Jolokia and Arufi approached the base of the mountain, it became apparent that there was even more reason to avoid it now, as standing sentry on the only passageway up were some rather pale, skinny looking soldiers.  Incredibly skinny, really, so skinny that their bones seemed to be in plain view.  So skinny, in fact, that they lacked any kind of flesh at all.  Their eyes were little more than glowing pools of sickly green, and their armour and weapons were caked with rust.  Thankfully, the bony sentries didn't seem to be paying much attention to the oncoming adventurers, doing little more than standing silently.

Still, Jolokia had already drawn her sword.  The surface of the blade gleamed as though it was brand new, almost blindingly so as the sunlight reflected off it.

"Aw, just look at their swords!" she sighed, giving the sentries a critical glance. "They're all... Beat up and rusty!  It's so sad that someone would treat their swords like that..."