[center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5498541][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/874364687599403028/1201548617132015686/Evelyn_Banner_1.png[/img][/url][/center]
[center][h3]--Varanheim - Abandoned Homestead--[/h3][/center]
In the middle of putting new entries into her personal journal, the eccentric-yet-shrewd archaeologist returned to the living room, announcing himself in that raucous tone pretty much expected from him. [color=d62524][i]...[/i][/color] Eve turned her gaze at Vesemir when he mentioned her (and Carnatia), at first, she was curious as to what matter he wanted to address, after all, he wouldn't just do this without an express purpose. [color=d62524][i]Oh...[/i][/color] When he revealed his intentions of rationalizing the appropriation of the enchanted items, she found himself agreeing with him, and then even further when he brought a rather sizable coin pouch to "convince" those who were on the fence about the matter. At that moment, Vesemir reminded Eve of none other than Consul Konstantin, her own father. It was wise, after all, what was wealth than another resource at one's disposal? Coins were much better used as bargaining tools to exert one's will rather than being excessively hoarded inside vaults, gathering dust.

Up next, the monocled elf moved on to - frankly speaking - more important matters, the expedition. While before, Eve's attention was merely attracted, now, she was interested enough to close her journal then sauntered over to the living room's central table, peering down at the map of the Land of Twilight, which lay just east of Alkautsar. [color=d62524][b]"Hmm..."[/b][/color] She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons of Vesemir's detour proposal, and it didn't take long for her to conclude that it was a wise decision considering the purpose of their journey, [color=d62524][b]"Indeed, the more we can discover about these mythical lands as we head to Nuria, the better, Sir Vesemir."[/b][/color] As for the remark of Gray Flame being their guide, well.. obviously, but Eve realized that not everyone might be as privy as herself when it came to the masked elf's role in the group.

After the discussion, Eve took out her journal once more, but this time to copy parts of the map that caught her interest, for quick reference in the future. However, it was at this moment that a little "incident" seemed to crop up nearby. [color=d62524][i]...?[/i][/color] It involved Fia, Forbann, and Carnatia it seemed, something about the former proposing to-... [color=d62524][i]Oh...[/i][/color] Young as Eve was, she was still two years older than a decade, on the cusp of growing into adolescence, between that, her extraordinary intellect, and her extensive education, the matter of the "birds and the bees" certainly wasn't lost on her... and it irked her. [color=d62524][i]Ugh...[/i][/color] Rolling her eyes at the cringeworthy display, the shorter redhead focused on her journal while her taller counterpart was being all flustered.

Some time later, after discovering an alternative method of cooking without having to involve the mold-infested kitchen, Engelbart the Chef-Knight announced that dinner was ready. At this, Eve raised her head, [color=d62524][i]I suppose I'm feeling a bit famished~[/i][/color] nodded to herself, then closed her journal, ready to join the others in a communal meal. Unlike those hopelessly decadent patricians back home, Eve realized that expecting palace-worthy cuisine would be extremely pompous of her, so, she simply adjusted her expectations accordingly. [color=d62524][i]Hmhm~ a stew would do just fine~[/i][/color] Really, she should be praised for that.

After a hearty dinner with the other members of the caravan, Eve simply picked one of the sofas to tuck herself in, occupying so little of the furniture that one other person - except Forbann - could comfortably sit on the remaining space. 

Thus, the night passed...

[center][h3]--Land of Twilight - En Route--[/h3][/center]
[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iitRWpPQahM]♫[/url][/center]
Hours later, the caravan was on the move once more. After passing through a small village and surrounding farmlands, they finally closed in on the Land of Twilight at last. [color=d62524][i]Hmm...?[/i][/color] The young artificer looked up from her journal after finishing yet another entry, her conscious and subconscious noticing the not-so-subtle change in the atmosphere. Honestly, she was expecting it, it would be rather anticlimactic if the so-called mythical ancestral home of elvenkind turned out to be... just another stretch of land. 

As they ventured under the canopies of centuries-old branches and leaves, Evelyn looked out of the wagon she was occupying, gazing down at the oddly-pristine road, their bricks bereft of any grass growing between the gaps, untouched by any invading tree roots, and free from even a speck of moss. It wouldn't take an artificer like her to notice that something wasn't natural about these roads. Her interest piqued, Evelyn performed her simple yet reliable scrying spell on one of the blocks. [color=d62524][i]Ah...?[/i][/color] What she received in return brought more questions than answers, there was no doubt about it, the road was enchanted, but with... what? She had never encountered this kind of magical signatures before, [color=d62524][i]Enchantments beyond anything I've ever seen before, undocumented in any of the tomes and grimoires I've read... even just from the roads alone, the Twilight Lands held secrets waiting to be discovered.[/i][/color]

As if on cue, then came a familiar voice, one spoken behind a mask of solid white, [b]"Something piqued your interest, princess? It is the road, isn't it? Hardly any grass sprouted on their gaps."[/b] he paused, and peered to the side of the road as if worrying if the trees had ears. [b]"It was said that Serensiel was so powerful her aura alone terrorized anything she was close to. And such terror, even after 1700 years still lingered at every roads and every lands she ever traveled through."[/b]

[color=d62524][b]"I... see..."[/b][/color] The redhead found herself slightly at a loss for words, yes, she had heard of Serensiel the Elven Tyrant-Queen before, but to witness her terrible legacy firsthand was still... something. Though the story gave her mixed emotions, one eventually triumphed above all, [i]curiosity[/i], if even the roads were like this, one could only imagine what manner of divine knowledge could be studied from the deepest reaches of Nuria...

[center][h3]--Land of Twilight - Campsite--[/h3][/center]

Eventually, the sun slowly abdicated its reign to the moon as the late afternoon sky stretched over the Land of Twilight. The convoy decided to make camp, located on a roadside glade, quite near to the ruins of Lasse according to the map. [color=d62524][i]...[/i][/color] While Vesemir, Engelbert, Gray, Carnatia, and the others were discussing about the monocled elf's plans to explore the ruins that very night, Evelyn was examining the... eerily-identical tree. [color=d62524][i]Is it just me or...?[/i][/color]

Then before she could put her thoughts together, the redheaded spellsword mentioned what was on her mind, that this particular chestnut tree was identical to the last one, right down to its number and pattern of its branches, leaves, and grooves. [color=d62524][b]"A enchantment of the Illusion school could be at play here, yes, it won't be too farfetched to hypothesize that it was put here to prevent would-be explorers from entering further into the Land of Twilight."[/b][/color] The shorter redhead added to the issue. 

Then, Evelyn closed her eyes as her lips curled into a small confident smirk, [color=d62524][b]"Fortunately for us, I'm quite capable of unraveling enchantments as much as I can apply them, s-"[/b][/color] but before she could properly finish her little boast and eventual offer to help, the Gray Flame was already offering his guide to-... [color=d62524][i]Lady Carnatia...?[/i][/color] But... why? That didn't make sense, at all! [color=d62524][i]But-... [b]I[/b] am the artificer here, she's a spellsword, what is she going to do? Chop the tree down?![/i][/color] Was it because they were both redheads and Gray simply confused one for the other? [color=d62524][i]No... no that's impossible, he's not an idiot... so, why...?[/i][/color] In her assumption of perceived disrespect from someone she looked up to, Evelyn failed to realize that Carnatia [i]can[/i] use her disenchantment technique without having to swing her sword.

[color=d62524][b]"..."[/b][/color] The masked elf himself might have meant nothing by it, but he nonetheless elicited an intense stare from the younger redhead of the group, to someone at least a bit more observant than average, it'd be quite clear to them that she was holding herself back from throwing a fit, [i]barely[/i]. For all of her talks of maturity, decorum, and noblesse oblige, it seemed the prodigy wasn't so above it all, especially when it came to slights against her greatest passion, falsely perceived or not.

[@Mas Bagus] [@Randomguy]