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Thioras - 62nd Searing, 120th of Steel
Altogether, the events that had occurred on his trip to Loras had done a great deal to sap any enjoyment out of the elf before he had even arrived. The journey had felt perfectly inconsequential when he had merely been perusing the idea of travel from atop his cot at home, but the realities of taking the trip independent of any allies had proven to be far more treacherous than he had expected. There had been creatures on the pathway which he had needed to watch for and avoid, and at times the train itself had proven to simply be difficult to follow. While there were cobblestones there was also an undeniable portion of mud and muck.
He'd arrived in the town only a couple of hours past, and had promptly visited the local inn to guarantee that he would be able to fetch a nice room before they had sold out. He didn't have the coin to splurge on one of the fancier and larger rooms, and so he had settled for a room at the Dewdrop Inn which was hardly larger than closet space. Perhaps there was no reason to truly complain, however, because he didn't intend to spend a great deal of time within the confines of the rented space anyway. There were far more important matters to attend to -- after he had managed to clean away the grime and mud and find a place to stow his horse.
Two hours later and he had managed his chores, scraping away at whatever detritus had clung to his garments and flesh and managing to locate a nice stall for his trusty and loaned horse to rest. Perhaps, he considered, he ought to have inquired of its name when he had first taken out the contract for it. Then he would be able to differentiate it from another similar looking beast should the circumstance arise. He could always attempt to give it a new name, but that felt somewhat uncomfortable to him, like giving a hammer or a spoon its own designation.
Shrugging his shoulders and leaving the horse to its hay, Althalos began to walk the streets of Loras. He was dressed in his normal nobleman's coat, having found the garment to be utterly inseparable from his ideal first impressions, and he'd even taken to wearing the shattered signet upon his hand in grim imitation of a proper aristocrat. Primping had taken some time, but he had managed to brush his hair enough that it didn't stick out at all angles, and had even gone through the trouble of flaking the majority of mud off of his boots. A husk of a living man though he might've been, he did give off his own air of amicable pride.
The pale elf had maneuvered easily through the streets of Loras, managing to avoid stepping into the occasional puddle which had formed in the sidewalks, or too far into any alleyways -- he'd already been robbed twice this season, and there was frankly no reason to tempt fate by giving any brigands a third opportunity. In truth, he sincerely doubted that there was much crime at all in the idyllic little township, but he supposed there could be dark secrets concealed beneath the facade of cooperative kinship and friendly faces. They were remote enough, after all, and the small size of the town meant that there couldn't be nearly as much policing taking place as could be found in Alfsos. Perhaps in one of the homes would lie a blood cultist engaging in their ritualistic affairs, or perhaps the ruling family here had taken to utter debauchery and carnality.
Althalos shrugged with acceptance at his own ignorance of the place around him. He still nodded and smiled at anyone who passed him, offering the warm camaraderie that he often tried to demonstrate, and simply made a point not to pry too deeply into any individual's life. He would only be here for a couple of days, and he felt confident that he could avoid any massive trouble in that time span.
Finally, he reached his destination, rapping upon the open doorway of Erma's Herbal Remedies before slipping inside. The room wasn't quite as large as he had imagined, and yet, a glance around the place hadn't revealed the owner of the establishment. The door had been open -- was there a backroom? A cursory glance around revealed none, or at least, none obvious to his eyes. Though he'd intended to come to the store, he suddenly felt the uncanny sensation that he wasn't meant to be here at all.
Credit to Saej!
