“Ah, the pleasure is mine, of course.”
Llywelyn had heard of North Vaces before, but knew little about it. He was fairly certain it was a human kingdom, but not much else came to mind. He was not even quite sure where it was, but reasoned that, if this gentleman had found himself lost in the same forest as himself, that it must not be terribly far away from Oaktower. There was no doubt it his mind that Adrian had, in fact, been lost. The furtive glance toward the trees made that quite clear. The Apprentice gave the Drakenwald another brief look himself, as though to be certain no fell beasts were about to emerge thence. He saw no beasts, but he did spy more wanderers coming into the clearing.
“What a curious place this is...” he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. “that so many strangers should find themselves here, at an inn, in the middle of the Drakenwald. Curious.”
Drawn from his observations, he turned to see a rather striking young elf maiden. She was speaking to him, Adrian, and a few other travelers with whom he was not yet acquainted, and went on to explain this most unusual place in which they all now found themselves. Llyw had hardly heard a word she said. He had seen lovely women before, time and again- Auredhel's daughters in particular were all rather pretty, but the Wizard discouraged his students from talking to them. This Rosalinda, however, was positively enchanting- and who would know better than an enchanter, after all? In reply to her offers of hospitality, all he could muster was some muttering about how he would prefer to bathe after dinner.
As she turned to lead a woman inside, Llyw felt Adrian's grip on his shoulder tighten. Wincing a little, he held his tongue. It did not seem to be intentional, after all. After a moment Rosalinda returned, bearing fresh clothes. And then she waltzed off again. She certainly seemed to have quite a bit of energy, if nothing else. Adrian, thankfully, released his hold on Llyw's shoulder, and asked him how he managed to find himself in the middle of a gods-forsaken forest. It was really a very good question.
“I would be most pleased to join you, of course, Adrian Raven of North Vaces.” he began, brushing the hair from his eyes. “And, as to my presence- I daresay it is not much of a tale. I was actually gathering alchemical ingredients for my master- mushrooms and berries, mostly- when I became ensnared by this deviled wood. I will have to make another attempt to contact him tomorrow, after I have had a chance to rest and prepare a spell. I imagine he must be rather concerned as to my whereabouts, by now.”
“Oh,” he added, as an afterthought, “you may call my Llyw, if you should like. It comes off as a little less formal I think...”
Ah, but the lovely Rosalinda was speaking to them yet again, asking for their names. The Apprentice favored her with a smile as he stepped forward, bowing with a little more flourish than before.
“I am Llywelyn of Oaktower, son of Cadoc, and apprentice to the Wizard Auredhel, called the Insightful. I am most delighted to make your acquaintance, dear lady.”
He stepped back again, allowing Adrian to introduce himself. Curiously, the young elf seemed to know him. Even curiouser was her panicked dash away from them. An intelligent man of letters, and moreover one who fancied himself a wit, Llywelyn had much to say about that strange reaction.
“Oh, my...” he said.
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