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[sub][color=8E939E]✧     Location: Soft Haven Bounty House     ✧     Purse: 12 copper     ✧      [@Achronum] [@Scribe of Thoth] [@McMolly] [@Trainerblue192]     ✧[/color][/sub][/center]
Fortunately, Kyreth wasn’t left to stand silently by himself for long; not long after he arrived, the sullen boy from the day before made his appearance, sporting a loaf of fine bread Kyreth was just about certain he couldn’t afford. To Kyreth’s surprise, Ermes walked right up to him, starting up a conversation with a question that was either sincere and poorly delivered or a poorly-veiled jab. 

Kyreth eyed the bread with something akin to disgust, but rather than comment, looked around for his new traveling partner. Had she gotten cold feet? After yesterday’s endeavours, he certainly couldn’t blame her, but he shifted on his feet just the same. [color=8E939E]“Oh, um, she’s…”[/color] 

Having been surprised Lilann hadn’t beaten him there in the first place, Kyreth wasn’t surprised to see a top-heavy silhouette materialize in the morning mist right on cue. [color=8E939E]“Right there!”[/color] he finished more confidently than he started, motioning to Lilann’s figure emerging from the fog. 

[color=8E939E]“Good morning,”[/color] he returned her greeting kindly, noticing she’d gone back to her mask. Smart. He wished he could get away with that, but he didn’t have the performer’s air Lilann had to pull it off - if he donned a mask he’d be pegged as some kind of criminal before anyone even had the chance to find out he was Tainted and consider themselves sure. 

It wasn’t long after Lilann arrived that Cerric launched into another introductory spiel, helpfully repeating their patron’s name so Kyreth could commit it to memory. Judging by their patron’s demeanour, Ms. Buckman either wasn’t bothered by the presence of two Tainted among her ragtag guard, or hadn’t noticed - either one worked for Kyreth, and he dared not hope for any more than that. Whichever one it was, he made a mental note to steer clear of the front of the carriage on their trek - no need to take any chances. 

Kyreth reflected Ms. Buckman’s concern about their numbers, though - especially when Cerric approached the topic of Lilann’s “search” after his announcement. Cerric’s excuse weakened considerably when an eldritch horror in the woods was factored into the equation, and Kyreth was left to wonder once more if Cerric truly believed the woods would be empty, or if he was just that powerful that whatever that [i]thing[/i] was didn’t concern him. Which it was, he couldn’t tell; behind the near-ominous curiosity on his face, the man was intriguingly hard to read. 

And speaking of people who were difficult to read, Ceolfric shot a comment as he passed, earning little more than a quizzical look from Kyreth. If only the bandit knew his real reason for tagging along made even less sense; mending fences was certainly more within his wheelhouse than aetherically mapping the road out of Soft Haven as a walking firebomb. On that topic, Kyreth made a mental note to suss out the aether around the North Gate before they set off. 

But that could wait a moment. In the meantime, Cerric had the bulk of his attention. [color=8E939E]“Ah, right, sorry about that,”[/color] he apologized less-than-sincerely, crossing his arms. He leveled the blue-skinned man with a searching stare, unsure whether to broach the topic, but eventually decided to follow Lilann’s lead; it was her story to tell, and he wouldn’t tramp on her right to tell it as she saw fit. Besides, he wasn’t fond of accusing Cerric of malfeasance on day one, especially when their ten-day foray promised a lot of close dealing with the man - more if he needed to put out any fires.