[color=1a7b30][h2]Rezello[/h2][/color]
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[quote][color=f26522]"I did hear what had happened to the city of Scheel yes, though as you did not bring it up yourself, I suppose it's neither here nor there. Regardless, I recognised your armour, it's gladdening to have a knight of the famous Sten Corps with us for this expedition."[/color][/quote]
At least one member of the party knew of Scheel, it seemed. Her comment about the "famous" Sten Corps came as a bit of a surprise to Rezello; he wasn't aware they had such a reputation, though given most of his time in Westernant outside of Scheel was spent traveling across the untamed frontier and the bulk of his adventuring years in Varenheim, perhaps it was one limited to the parts of Westernant he hadn't visited.

The foreign swordsman was the last to introduce himself, having at some point changed from his ragged travel clothes and half-mask into an ornate black article of clothing, a style of robe Rezello was unfamiliar with. He spoke of things and in terms equally unknown, but if he was even half as capable as he claimed to be in the parts that Rezello did understand, his versatility would no doubt prove invaluable.

Meanwhile, Tillius had gone upstairs to check on Roxas and Vesemir. Truly, he was the bravest among them. Given that he didn't immediately return, Rezello figured that he was either handling the situation well, or had already been struck down for his efforts. Whatever his fate may have been, the topic of the trinkets soon came up again. Vesemir emerged from the stairs shortly after, suggesting that it was only right for them to take them... and leaving a substantial-looking sack of coins atop the mantlepiece as a form of payment. As much as not taking freely available magic items seemed a waste, none of them were of particular use to Rezello so he decided to leave the dilemma to those that would actually get something out of them.

With that matter seemingly settled for the moment, the others still downstairs had begun discussing bathing orders - with some overlap in the turns being suggested by their newest member. If light could pass through the gaps in Rezello's mask, the edges of a slight smile might have been visible in response to the reactions - or lack thereof, in Forbann's case - of her proposed partners. Adventurers were as varied as they come, but such interactions - made in jest or otherwise - seemed almost inevitable whenever substantial enough parties formed. Perhaps not always so quickly, though.

While those conversations were happening, Vesemir had unfurled a large map on the table in the middle of the room. Announcing a detour, he pointed out some eastward ruins that they would be passing through before continuing on their way to Nuria.

[color=a2d39c][i]The ruins of Lasse? I... interesting.[/i][/color]

[color=1a7b30][i]Interesting? How?[/i][/color]

[color=a2d39c][i]It's... well, nevermind it for now. Do your thing, plunder ruins, I'll tell you if it becomes... relevant.[/i][/color]

As quickly as it had emerged again, the presence of the spirit of the mask disappeared from Rezello's mind. Trying to pry more information out of it would be useless - he had tried plenty of times in the past, and nothing he could do could compel it to speak to him if it did not intend to.

With their plans for the morrow established, Engelbert set out to procure them a meal. After a surprisngly short time of waiting - briefly interrupted by the discovery of kitchen rot and relocation of meal preparation - the great Chef-Knight, Vanquisher of the Vegetable Vanguard and Bane of the Beef Brigade, returned with the spoils of war: stew and hardtack. Perhaps a simpler meal in a more civilized setting, but compared to typical travel rations it might as well have been indulging in a banquet. The lower half of Rezello's mask moved with his jaw as he ate, allowing him to do so unimpeded without removing it. Despite the increased size in the gaps while doing so, which should have allowed at least some light in, the lower half of Rezello's face remained fully obscured in shadow, stew and hardtack seemingly disappearing into a black void.

As Gray Flame pointed out the firewood in the kitchen, he nodded in thanks; though his flame did not require a substantial amount of magic energy to continue burning, it did require him to remain conscious. Taking a few pieces of firewood, he set them within the cyan flame before holding out an open palm towards it. With a twist of his hand, the flame turned white, the previously pristine chunks of wood now starting to char as the flame gained the property of ignition; closing his palm, he extinguished its magic, the white flames flickering out of existence as they left behind an ordinary, mundane wood fire. Finding a place near the fireplace to sleep, Rezello removed his armor, stacking it in a pile nearby.
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In the morning, Rezello awoke as breakfast was ready; donning his half-plate and brigandine once more, he quickly ate before climbing onto one of the available wagons, watching the path ahead of them as they continued on their journey. The next day or so was mostly uneventful, save the wood carving that Roxas gifted him - a charm for her shielding spell, apparently, carved in the same shape as the pendant he wore.

Soon enough, they reached what must have been the true border of the Twilight Lands, a thick wall of woodland pierced only by the road they traveled on, which despite everything was in good condition. Maintained by some sort of magic, surely; any mundane construction would have been engulfed by the surrounding vegetation after seventeen centuries of neglect. The caravan continued on until their horses could progress no further, moving to take one final stop in a nearby glade before they reached the ruins of Lasse.

As Rezello took in their surroundings, a particular chestnut tree caught his attention; he could've sworn he had seen the same tree earlier, though given the caravan had been following a road with neither loops nor forks he reasoned it must have been his imagination. Before he thought too much on it, however, Vesemir announced his intent to journey into the nearby ruins that night. While nighttime excursions were hardly a rarity among adventurers, it was usually for the purpose of infiltration, theft, or other such things requiring stealth. Exploring ancient ruins was not typically among that set of actions. Engelbert was the first to express confusion, with Gray Flame providing an answer that ultimately raised more questions than it had settled.

As if to provide a distraction from "the Phantom", Carnatia raised the question of the unusual tree. Gray Flame seemed all too eager to provide an explanation for that question and pointed out that it was not a case of illusionary magic, with Fia joining in on observing the tree. He had Carnatia repeat some sort of incantation, which upon doing so revealed the tree's true nature as an Ent. While Carnatia and Fia itneracted with it, Gray Flame returned to Vesemir's side, elaborating further on the Phantom that he had mentioned before. Creatures more visible at night, infesting the ruins. Given the way he talked about avoiding them, likely not something they would survive a hostile confrontation with unscathed.