Talos looked up at the feeling of eyes bearing on him, his eyes locking with the Praelian’s before she walked away from him. He briefly followed the figure of the woman as she made her way towards the fortune teller, his brows knitting together in a frown as he watched the woman for a few brief seconds before turning his gaze away. “[i]Why was she looking so intently at me….something seems shifty.[/i]” Thought the knight to himself before shaking his head slightly “[i]Ah, probably overthinking it.[/i]” He thought to himself, but the uneasy feeling that had settled in his mind wouldn’t go away no matter how much he tried to convince himself he was overthinking things.  
 
With a last sigh Talos stood up from the log that he had been using as a makeshift seat since his arrival to the cairn. Scanning the plateau with his eyes Talos couldn’t help but draw his eyes towards the fortuneteller and the hooded woman that had locked eyes with him, debating with himself whether or not to talk with the Praelian woman when he noticed a second woman -another traveller he guessed based on the clothes she wore- approaching the fortuneteller’s stand. Deciding that it’d draw undue attention to go and interrogate the hooded woman, the knight settled his eyes on the trio of Darkslayers that gathered on the cairn and began making his way towards them. “Hail fellow travellers.” He addressed the trio of monster slayers once he was close enough to them, he didn’t exactly trust the trio -after all part of the Order of the Dusk- but he had heard plenty enough to know that his and their order had enough in common for him to approach them (at the very least to get info regarding any sights of Fey monsters). “Might I ask you what brings you to the Northern Marches? Perhaps looking for one of the damnable Fey monsters?” He prodded with his question, weighing the kind of answer they’d give to him to know if he’d try and strike a proper conversation in hopes of gaining any tidbit of knowledge in regards to his elusive prey.    
 
The three Darkslayers turned to regard the heavily armored Knight. They weighed him with their dark gazes for a moment, and then looked to one another. The group was varied in most ways one could image. The taller one was scarred, with his hair pulled back. There was a short, stocky slayer as well next to him, a tad older. In the center was a slim and grim woman. All of them wore dark colors over lightly wrought chainmail. 
“Heard nothing yet,” the tall one said, his voice gravelly. “Or nothing on fey. But there is a Troll needs slaying north east of here. First we’ll hit the town. Why? Have you heard tale of something in particular?”
 
Talos crossed his arms over his chest as the Darkslayers turned to regard him, seemingly weighing him with their gazes, for a moment, the expression on his face hidden behind his helmet. He took a moment to inspect the monster-slayers as they did the same to him, slightly surprised to find a women amongst them, having not picked out that particular detail from when he had first noticed the presence of the Darkslayers upon his arrival at the cairn, but not particularly bothered by the fact. He had, after all, seen plenty of women picking up a blade from the corpse of an unlucky sod, sometimes that particular sod being a family member or a loved one, when it came to defend those they cherished, though such instances were far from common. “Hmmm, a troll you say?” He echoed when the Darkslayer, the tall one, responded to his query before posing one to him “Hmmm, not recently if I am to be honest.” Replied the Knight to the trio of slayers “See, when I was a squire, me and a group of other would-be-knights were tasked by a baron named Daubeney to patrol the village and areas to which he claimed lordship over.” He explained, hoping that giving the trio of monster slayers his story might help him get some info “During our time there we ran into a Fey witch who was responsible for a number of troubles in the region, which happened to share a border with these same marshes.” Continued the Templar “And I was hoping that, by the grace of the gods, I might be able to pick the trail of the witch, whom we were only able to drive away and not fully slay.” Finished Talos, an idea blossoming in his mind as he recalled the events that had so fundamentally changed his life “Say, you did mention that there was a Troll that needed slaying north of here, no? Pray, tell me, is this the first such incident that you have heard about in the nearby area, or have there been more incidents of the sort? Either in regards to monsters or any sort of increase in criminal activity in the area?” He asked, trying to keep his voice calm but there was an unmistakable air of tension around Talos (and which might have crept somewhat into his voice). The point of his question was less interest in the activities of monsters or criminals, indeed he cared very little and had next to no interest in the activities of the latter, but more in seeing if the same pattern that had presented itself in Daubeney’s lands could be repeating in the marshes. It was a flimsy hope admittedly, but it was the only one that Talos had at the moment. 
 
The taller Dark Slayer answered. “The Marches are filled with such beasts, though many slumber or remain in the hills and mountains, or deep forests. We have just arrived, so I am not certain.” 
“Aye,” the woman replied. The stouter, older hunter sharpened his knife as the others spoke, merely watching the conversation, and the crowd about them. 
 
“The forests west and north of here are known for their Fey spirits,” the woman said, hands on her hips. “Perhaps you’ll find what you seek there, though it’s quite a bit of land to be searching through.” 
“Not to mention the beasts and Orcs,” the taller one continued. “Good hunting for the right price, I’d say. But for you, you might need to find something to help point you in the right direction.” 
 
Talos listened as the taller member of the trio of slayers answered his question, nodding silently when the man answered that the Marches were filled with such beasts but that many of them were inactive and spent their time slumbering on the nearby hills and mountains. It was disheartening, if not unexpected, piece of information, but the fact that the trio of Dark Slayers had just arrived, and this hadn’t had much time to obtain information about the activity of the monsters in the zone, gave him a glimmer of hope that he might yet be able to find his prey or, failing that, some information regarding it’s whereabouts. He turned to look at the woman as she spoke, maintaining his silence until she was done speaking “Yes, that is very true.” He said, nodding once more in agreement with the woman of the group, about to speak once more when the tall Dark Slayers continued speaking. 
 
“As much as it pains me to admit it, you are right.” Said Talos with a defeatist sigh “Without a group or someone to point me in the right direction I’d die of old age before finding my quarry if I searched this lands by my own means, even if I looked out for the same pattern that led to my encounter with the Fey Witch in the first place.” He said, shaking his head slightly “Nonetheless, I thank you for the advice you have provided to me.” Said the knight “It’s best that I accept my inability to accomplish this mission on my own before starting it rather than while lost in the middle of the marshes.” He said, his shoulder slumping slightly as he pondered what to do next. 
 
“Knight,” the tall one replied. He reached into his pack, and produced a pendant made of rabbit fur and obsidian, on a leather thong necklace. He tossed it to him. “For good luck.” 
 
Talos looked up when he heard one of the Darkslayers, the tall one if he recognized the voice correctly, address him. He was somewhat confused when he saw the tall Darkslayer reach into his pack, his hand instinctively reaching up to catch whatever it was that the monster slayer had tossed at him. Turning his hand towards his face so he could take a good look at whatever it was that the Darkslayer had handed him Talos’s eyes widened in shock when he finally recognized the object: it was a pendant designed to protect the wearer against Fey WItches, they were also supposed to react in some sort of way to the nearby presence of witches as well. Talos had heard of the pendant’s existence, and of their properties, during his training as a member of the Order of the Dusk but had never expected to ever find one. 
 
“My thanks for this gift Darkslayer, I hope that you find whatever it is that brought you to the Northern Marches and that you succeed in your endeavor.” Said the Knight as he closed his hands once more around the pendant, bidding farewell to the trio of monster slayers one last time before he returned to his previous spot in the Cairn near the smithy.