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The walk was a terse affair, much to Ceolfric's consternation. Judging by how on edge the Tainted siblings were, he was confident he'd established himself as dominant in their tenuous engagement, that they were holding their tongues not out of guilt but of simple wariness. It brought him a small measure of peace that he was unlikely to be walking into a gang of horned highwaymen working in tandem with the duo, but such relief was overshadowed by the frustrating realization that he'd receive no answers from their lips.

How he yearned to unravel all their little secrets with but a snap of his fingers, but he'd surely face retaliation from the Tainted not enthralled while he was still sorting through the thoughts of his target. Freckles, to his credit, gave an answer, but not to the question Ceolfric had asked. Even with the inn out of the question, who would choose to sleep among the dead when given a better option? The crannies beneath the walls' battlements would surely provide ample cover to rest under, should the forest itself be too untamed for their liking. It seemed he misunderstood just about everything Ceolfric said, with his dismissal of nebulous 'entities'; perhaps pegging him for a demon hunter speaking in technical terms instead of a curious and slightly irritated traveller. 

[color=aa4a44]"You already have. Twice. You slept next to one,"[/color] Ceolfric elaborated with a loose gesture toward the girl, [color=aa4a44]"I'm not idly musing about wraiths and forest spirits; your essences stand out like bonfires in a sea of candleflames, it's what led me to your camp in search of the creature."[/color]

The sister was little better; whatever smug assurance she felt she had over Ceolfric that had animated her tongue earlier apparently laid dead back in the graveyard before the bandit even had a chance to kill it. Not that he could really blame her, it sounded as if a bard on the road ahead had struck up a tune, yet he seemed to play in every direction at once. Of course, that was under the assumption that they heard it too and he hadn't fallen victim to sensory altering magic cooked up by one of Freckles' imagined spectral entities. Or Freckles himself, for that matter. Ceolfric could only hope he'd have sensed it when it was casted if it truly did come from one of the Tainted.

Thankfully, the music was broken by a passing cart, and the murmurs of a distant woman's conversation seemed to spook the girl enough to attempt to mask her face. Ceolfric himself rested a hand on the pommel of his sword, though he refrained from bursting out onto the road with [i]Goredrinker[/i] already swinging like he wanted to. When he broke the treeline, he almost regretted it. Some behemoth of a creature stood before them, a beast that looked like an orc but loomed like a giant. For a moment, it seemed he had found the one who had disturbed his slumber, yet he saw no claws that could rend the earth asunder and felt no aetheric pressure that would accompany a glamoured demon. No, she was but a woman, but one more fitting in the tall tales of a Dranirian traveller than casually walking down a path in Soft Haven.

The two with her, though shining as brightly as the Tainted siblings, appeared equally free of guilt. The presence he'd thought to chase earlier scintillated along the edge of his awareness again, emanating from a waifish boy that barely warranted a second glance if not for the odd way his hair waved in the nonexistent breeze. It would seem Ceolfric was not unique or even rare among those seeking the Bounty House, and that aether gathered plentifully in those that were drawn to Soft Haven. All the more reason to be on his best behavior, tedious as it was. Gods only knew what bizarre characters awaited him once he was actually [i]inside[/i].

[color=aa4a44]"This way to the Bounty House, I take it,"[/color] Ceolfric greeted the group casually as he passed, more concerned with announcing his presence than actually getting directions. He was tempted to halt and try to pry information from the trio about the mystery creature, given his lack of success with the Tainted, but his would-be travelling companions seemed to be in quite the hurry and he figured it would be more productive to start his inquiries at a proper institution that would reasonably be contracted to deal with such matters over the hearsay of oversized wanderers, lost elven maidens, and sickly teenagers.

[hr][@McMolly][@Obscene Symphony][@Hero][@Trainerblue192]