The little halfling woman left her home in quite a tizzy. She had spent most of the past 20 years living off in Ghostlight Forest; helping stray travelers as she looked deep within herself for answers and strength. She hadn't even held a conversation with another person in nearly a decade. Vale desperately tried to brush her hair and remove some of the wildness from her appearance, but only seemed to make it stand out more. If only her stitching work was completed; she could at look like she was a person that knew what she was doing.
Vale packed everything up she bothered taking with her; leaving behind some trail makers should more people wonder in. Her destination was Mavros, a well known city in the eyes of the world; even if Vale couldn't be the one to say anything more about it. Living alone had shifted her focus away from common cares. If she recalled correctly, her destination was just on the other side of the wastes. It was going to be a long walk.
Vale hesitated at the edge of the forest, looking out at the treeless land spread out before her. Deep breaths as she stepped into the sunlight. It was a nice day outside the forest, the soft grass felt good against her bare feet. And with everything she could think of ready to go, she marched on. A road crossed her path, looking around before crossing. She had no map and there was no telling where the trail led. But it was a rather peaceful start; free of any living soul.
Soon the trail became rocky. Vale was beginning to miss the forest floor, or perhaps the forest in general. The sun had set hours ago and the chill in the air bled through her rather lackluster attire. Though she didn't slow down; she had a few days worth of walking still to go.
Vale walked on for days. A few pests looking for an easy target quickly learned not to mess with the three-foot walking terror. Around day three the mountains started to come into focus. She was getting close, but still had a few days before she crossed the mountains and continued on to Mavros. One day she shared her rations with a couple of travelers; a nice introduction with people of today's age. Though they were twice her size, they were quite friendly and it always felt good to help people out.
As she neared the base of the mountains, she came across a clear spring. She had been walking for days without rest and the sound of the clear trickling water was too good to pass up. Vale set down her haversack, and stripped off her equipment before slipping into the water. It was nice and cool, but that didn't bother her none. She sighed and closed her eyes. Critters came and went, but none no bigger than she was ever disturbed her. Looking into the sky, she watched the sun set on another day of her journey. Slipping out before it got too dark to pack back up again.
Soon she came upon a city between the mountains. This would have been a good halfway point, had this not been her destination all along. To her pleasant surprise, she had entered the Seat of Mavros to find it bustling with people. Everyone there towered over her as she dodged in and out of people's way.
Vale gripped her bag and staff tight. There were more people here than there were trees in her forest. Yet she moved on; finding herself trapped in a convoy of well equipped travelers, obviously a higher class then the rest of the townsfolk. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be the smallest one here; though she was still notably shorter than the pink-haired gnome riding the mechanical monstrosity.
Vale gazed upon the line. As colorful and diverse as it was; the only thing that stood out would have been the half orc. Well, not so much him as the symbol he carried. She easily pinned him as a follower of Tyr... Teer? Tier? Honestly, she wasn't too experienced in names and titles. Living alone, she had made her own sense of how the world works.
Normally she would be fine and dandy to just walk out the rest of the way into town in silence, but her anxiety was getting the better of her. The last time she was surrounded by people so tall was when she first started to develop her skills and sought a master wizard to train her; not that that ended well. Instead she ran her eyes through the line one last time; noting a couple more people of interest. There was that one shape-changer elf, and... an owlbear. If it wasn't for the fact she was sure she would get eaten, she would have hopped up to the beast in a flash. Inspecting the rare beast and parading around it in awe. Rather, she settled for the mechanical man with an unwavering silence. Quickening her pace to catch up and keep with the strolling soldier; laying her hand onto Titan Bane's leg to both announce her presence and so she'd not get separated; though he was easily the tallest one in the area. Reaching more than two and a half times her own height.
"Er- Hi, I never seen a man quite like you. You're a warforged, right? You seem quite serious. You have any idea why we're here, or. Oh! Excuse me, my name's Vale. Sorry, I've spent so much time secluded in the woods, I've quite forgotten my manners. Nice to meet you." Vale stretched her neck as far up as it would bend, trying not to blind herself with the sun; but making the effort to look the giant in the eyes.
