“You might have as much time as you want to consort amongst yourselves. I’m not so foolish as to believe that you would accept my terms without some deliberation.” The knight said, his tone still weary. “[i]I’m so tired of this constant vigilance, always suspecting the worst until proven wrong.[/i]” He thought for a brief second, his shoulders sagging as tiredness seemed poised to overcome him. He was about to speak again, to allow the eclectic party of individuals passage into the village without needing to fulfill his terms when Aeryn spoke. 

The words of the Dark Elf thief seemed to ignite something within Nicademus, as the knight -who but a few moments ago looked tired beyond measure- seemed to stand straighter, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light as he began making his way towards Aeryn, completely silent. However, Settione’s words gave pause to the knight; unfortunately for the priest, his words had the opposite effect of whatever he desired as he shot the priest a withering look. “Speak plainly priest.” The knight spoke, vitriol in his voice “I despise those who coat their intentions with honeyed words, they always seem to hide ill-intent behind their sweet words.” Nicademus said, his dislike for the priest growing when he took notice of the man’s smile.

“As for your worries over your equipment, that the people of this village would steal it to make their fortunes off of said equipment, it should come off to you as a relief that they do not do this. I would know this, for I too came to this town as a roaming traveller but a month ago.” He spoke, smiling towards the piest albeit the heavily-scarred nature of his face meant that the gesture came across as more threatening than calming. “Furthermore, I’m the one who trained the militia that you see present before you….and if you imply them to be capable of acts as deplorable as the ones you suggest, well then, I couldn’t stand for that, could I? My honor as a member of the Order of the Dusk wouldn’t allow me to do so.” 

“So, if I were you, I’d choose what you say next very carefully priest.” Said Nicademus after a few seconds of silence to let the priest absorb his words. He turned to face Aeryn but before he could address the Dorcha, An-Hasst began speaking. He listened patiently as the Skayleigh man spoke, bristling inwardly at his not-so-subtle threats and posturing. 

“Don’t worry.” Answered Nicademus, looking at the giant of a man directly in the eyes “None of your belonging will be displaced or damaged, so there was no need to resort to threats of any sort.” Replied the knight with icy-hostility, “As for your other questions, as I said before when I stated the terms, you are free to decide where you’ll help, the village is fully open to you as long as the guards who I will assign accompany you.”

“As for where you’ll sleep and eat, there are several rooms in the village inn, you’ll stay there same as I.” He answered before turning to Aeryn “Now, lets see to what you said little [i]dorcha[/i].” Said the knight, making special emphasis on the word Dorcha knowing full well that it had bothered Aeryn to do that. “You said that you had a plan to free human slaves, but that it only failed because one of those same slaves betrayed you?” Nicademus asked, looking directly at Aeryn in the eyes “Tell me, why were they there? Because of [i]your[/i] kind, you took them from their homes, but why do I bother telling you about this.” He said, letting out a bitter chuckle.
“After all, it’s not like you’ve ever been the victim of one of the raid led by your kinsmen. What do you know about waking up in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke and cruel laughter, what do you know about seeing those too old or too infirm being slain before your eyes because they wouldn’t be good slaves.” Nicademus said, voice full of bitterness and venomous hatred, quietly at first but gaining in intensity as he continued talking. “What would you know of the kiss of the leash on your back, or of seeing your whole world go up in ashes.” He snarled at Aeryn, hands curled into fists “Don’t try to gain sympathy with me claiming that you wanted to free human slaves or that the other Dorcha aren’t your kind. You can’t possibly know what it’s like to be enslaved by them, and don’t you try and claim any moral superiority either or is it that you've never hurt a human?”

“As for my interest in you, don’t flatter yourself, my sole interest in you is like that of the sheep-herder dog that waits for the wolf. In other words, I'm merely observing you until you show your true nature.” Nicademus spoke, having gone quiet again, his voice still full of hatred, “But if you worry about your friends, don’t worry, I won’t harm them, not even the Saurdraxus. I promised that if you fulfilled my terms, you’d be welcome in the village and treated as guests and unlike your kind, I take my honor very seriously.”     

“Even the Saurdraxus?” Argon echoed, clearly confused. He blinked slowly as he pondered. Calanon patted the bestial warrior’s side, telling him not to worry on it. 

“Yes, even the Saurdraxus. If you enter the village as guests, I swear upon my honor, no harm will come to you.” Said the knight before falling silent once more. 

Geradin seemed tired of all of this talk, and decided to remain quiet lest he yell and strike someone with his fist or hammer. Beren had heard enough as well, and he stepped forward. He seemed to think for a moment, clearly not wanting to start a fight but refusing to keep his fellowship from staying in the woods. 

“We’ll hand over our weapons,” He said, speaking for the group. He certainly hoped no one publicly disagreed with him, or the group’s cooperation would seem a flimsy thing, so he continued before anyone could speak up. “You can guard where we sleep, and the town in general as you do. But we’ll all stay together most likely. No single guard for each of us, unless you simply want to keep the strength of the guard to match our group. But we simply wish to rest, eat, maybe trade, and be on our way.” 

“There won’t be need to guard the place where you sleep, after all if you are willing to acquiesce to the conditions that I’m setting I trust that you won’t try and do something as treacherous as an attack in the middle of the night.” Said Nicademus with a shrug “And freel free to stay together as a group if its your wish, a number of guards equal in size to your group will accompany you. But do remember that you also have to help shore up the defences of this place, and that implies more than merely helping to build a wall or dig up a ditch.” 

“If that’ll be all, I do suggest that we head inside. We don’t have much to offer, but you’ll be given what food and beverages are available on the inn and don’t worry about paying, consider the work you’ll do your form of pay.” Said the knight, waiting to see if anyone wanted to voice another opinion “And do remember, you are to tell me the reason for your presence here.” 

Beren was not one to bend when he put his foot down. If there was an overarching flaw to the Monk’s character, it was stubbornness. However, he remembered one of the key tenants of his faith and Eru’Dai philosophy, and that was to swallow your pride for the good of others. He breathed in deeply through his nose, an almost imperceptible act, as his eyes never closed. He forced himself to let it go, and the tanned young warrior nodded in agreement. 

The group was escorted into the town, which was more like a glorified village with a motte and bailey center. However the settlers here had made good use of their time and had cleared a fair amount of forest, and had built buildings one to two stories tall. One of the latter buildings was the Inn. It had the look of a large home. It was still newly made, yet it had a slightly aged appearance from the weather and lack of exceptionally skilled carpenters. But the foundations looked solit, and the porch was inviting. 

Inside, there was a small common room that could accommodate up to 25 people if put to its breaking point. Round tables and a doorway to a Kitchen was all that defined a room, the folk not having bothered to spruce it up or even make a bar. Rooms were available, though there were only 4. They would need to share rooms, and discuss matters of guard and payment. 

[@Gardevoiran][@The Fated Fallen][@Stormflyx][@Mortarion][@Fetzen][@BCTheEntity]