[center][h3][url=https://dicecloud.com/character/zFXjZQP4bx2k2MnDm/Lydiane-Dupeaux][color=aaaaaa][img]https://i.imgur.com/m3f6DDu.png[/img] Lydiane [img]https://i.imgur.com/qkXcOJG.png[/img] Dupeaux [img]https://i.imgur.com/m3f6DDu.png[/img][/color][/url][/h3][/center][hr]
[color=aaaaaa][i]So this is our reward?[/i][/color] The gloom of the settlement mirrored the aggressively neutral glare from a human woman. Her clothing and hair style were as chaste as one would expect of a nun (at least, an armor-clad nun), and yet her demeanor was about as unwelcoming as it could be. [color=aaaaaa][i]We traveled towards civilization for how long, only to be greeted thus? Pathetic. Useless. Waste.[/i][/color]

The woman produced a candle, setting it alight with a tindertwig and shedding light that provided insubstantial warmth to the woman's face, but the cold stare instantly snuffed out any feelings of compassion in her direction. This was not what she had expected. Where was the mirth? The merriment? Where were the happy faces of children playing with each other? Instead, they were greeted with gloom, depression, the chains of an oppressive fog lurking about, obscuring the town from view. Barred doors, such as she had encountered her whole life, were the main greeting established here. Not that she had expected a town would lay out a scarlet runner for her arrival, but she had hoped there was aught other than this: loneliness amongst despair.

Around her was a motley group of individuals that seemingly were as surprised as she was with this turn of events. Many seemed to have some semblance of power or training, certainly more than one would expect from a commoner, but none seemed as weathered as those she had known before. The teachings of the fey were not helpful yet in discerning their strengths or weaknesses, but if they were fated to travel together, time would reveal such information. Before them was a pair of children, seeming quite out of place in the murky atmosphere. The fog around them felt foreboding to Lydiane, and perhaps a bit sinister. [color=aaaaaa]"You there. Children. Should you be out and about in a time like this? Where are your homes?"[/color] Lydiane called, her voice stern and feeling almost abrasive against the chill silence of the area.