Marcus was walking around the town without an escort, having sneaked past the girls this morning, though it would be hard to describe him as alone. Several of the towns girls had formed a couple of small clumps. None seemed brave enough to face him directly, preferring to just be in his vision hoping to be noticed.

He’d remembered from Cedric saying they’d have a ferry running back and forth a few times over the next couple days, and he hoped to catch the sorceress from the other night trying to get on one. He watched sitting on one of the posts that held the pier, and soaked in the sea breeze. People milled about the small town, a lot of people cleaning up after this festival. He’d been saving that question for the girl. She seemed the kind to talk about anything she’d learned about. A lecturer type, might be the only way to get her talking.

He let his eyes pass over the girls not stopping on any of them to see their reaction. A few instances of volunteering happened when the girls would step back, or push one of their number forward, just to be absorbed a moment later. He still hadn’t settled on how to feel about it. It was nice, I mean what person didn’t like being desired? At the same time it was too much and it altered his idea of people and their motives. The teasing was something of a silver lining though so he held on to that.

Eventually he saw a small troupe of adventurers, at least gauging from their garb way their way down, and he found that girl. They weren’t the first group but it was still early. He heard them conversing as they approached, his target was speaking with a fellow mage, guessing from the robes she bore. “I had, it was surely the strangest dream. There was this.” she shook her hands in the air, making grasping gesticulations, “Divines he was pretty. I saw him, and was like, all I could think was give me your babies!”

The girl next to her only chuckled, but didn’t say anything. “And he was with this girl, she was like a fox, and she said…” and he couldn’t make out what followed as it was exchanged in whispers. He was curious when he should interrupt. “But the weirdest thing!” she continued, this time slapping her open palm with the back of other other hand for emphasis. “He said he was from another part of Hrot. No one’s found a reasonable path back there in years, granted we’re busy. Not since the collapse of that godless place.”

The other girl finally noticed Marcus’s gaze, and she slowed. He took her measure, trying to draw forth the haughtiest smirk he could, and she wilted. She pulled at the sleeve of her friend, but the friend was still mid rant “I had to be deep in the cups for sure. It was a pleasant enough dream though. Damned Bronam trying to get me drunk”

“I’d say I should probably give you my name, before I give you my babies. Marcus Chandler.” he stepped toward the pair. The girl did confirm for him that it wasn’t possible to burst into flames purely from embarrassment.

“You, you’re not. I mean. You’re real?” The sorceress uttered completely flabbergasted.

“Quite. I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

The other girl saw this as her time to interject “If she is, I wouldn’t be.” she smiled, and it was quite winsome. “Marcus, you said? I’m Maybel.”

“A pleasure Miss Maybel.” he’d been meaning to see if we could get away with this. He took a hold of her hand, raising it to his lips and giving her fingers a light kiss. She broke into a tittering laugh.

“I like this one Fiona.”

“I wanted to meet up with her to confirm if she was still game for her offer?” Marcus pushed the conversation forward.

Fiona took one of her braids into her hand, the other hand twirling the tip of it as she looked up at him nervously. “I, we, we couldn’t possibly.” the twirling growing more fervent. “I mean could we? There’s-”

“While this is really amusing.” he grabbed the hand responsible for twirling. “I was speaking of staying at your place in Wyrmrest. You mentioned an archer claiming to be from Forsythe. Which is where we were heading.”

“You said he could stay at our place! Now that I say it actually...”

“She did. She was also drunk, so I wanted to hit her up again once she’d sobered up. But I also said we. I wouldn’t leave without my girls.”

“Girls?” Maybel said looking deflated.

“The fox girl, is one of three. But we’d just be in town for long enough to find this guy. You said you knew him.”

“Well, more like. I’d say I know of him.” Marcus must not have hidden his disappoint very well because she seemed compelled to add “But I do know people that do. Hunter’s guild guys. You know.”

“Well, I’m sure we can discuss it on the way. You are taking the ferry now yeah? Mind waiting for me to pick up my.” but he saw that Singer, Stripes, and Tamwyn were already walking toward the dock. “Never mind.”

Tamwyn’s glare was visible from quite a distance as she rapidly strode down the dock. In a huff, her fists tightened but she said nothing, before she threw a punch at Marcus’s shoulder, with enough force to almost cause him to stagger backwards. She continued huffing in aggravation, a small pout forming on her lips. Marcus braced himself, but nothing further came his way.

“So this our host for the next few days?” Stripes gingerly putting a hand on the Fiona’s shoulder. “Call me Stripes.”

“I don’t think we have enough beds?”

“Do you not have within your house a single bed to spare?” Singer tapped her chin with a fingertip. “Surely you have a single spare room at least?” Fiona and Maybel exchanged a look.

“Yes.” Fiona returned in measured tones. “We do have a spare room, a room mate from the guild went out on a long expedition.”

“Perfect. It pleases me to no end to know.” Singer threw a drawn look at Fiona “That we shall not be a bother”

“Consider it a trade for a look at our map. Tamwyn is quite precise with her note taking, so we’ve got a decent chunk of the doomed kingdom, and you have to take a small side hop into...what was that place called?” He said turning to Tamwyn

“If it has a name, I do not know it.” She replied, her face still locked in a pout.

“Weird, spooky plains, lots of this thick fog, that’s kinda dangerous.” he said shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively in the air. “Easy enough if you get one of those crystal barriers going.”

“Barrier?” Maybel replied as she peered at Fiona

“Was it a lantern?”

“Yeah. Had a weird crystal dome, and the oil.” Marcus frowned “If you could call it that-”

“Wait, you just accidentally wandered into the Miasma of Zan’iif, and just so happened to find a praxal lantern?” Fiona’s look of horror and fascination dominated her visage “Is this how things always go?”

“I would not say always” Singer feigned innocence “Though if pressed, it has occurred more than a twice.”

“It doesn’t kill you outright. I wouldn’t characterize it as accidental either.” Marcus retorted.

“Some of us.” Tamwyn added “Would pass through unharmed regardless”

Fiona shot Tamwyn a look of disbelief “Sure, we just have-” but she looked more closely at the armor Tamwyn wore and she stopped. “You keep rather interesting company Marcus Chandler”

“I’ll say. Have you taken a moment to inspect these?” Maybel said holding onto one of Stripes’ arms. “Its fascinating. She says they’re non magic, and my detection says the same.”

“They’re nothing fancy.” Stripes said, her voice shifting up slightly “They’re just some old Grappler mark threes. Granted I had my guy tool em up quite a bit.” her voice sounding more pleased with them than her words suggested. “I helped a little” the last murmured just barely audible

“What? I’ve heard about worlds where they came to find magic through strange means.” Fiona approached curiously “But they’re usually still detectable, once you figure it out. See, it looks like they’re small lightning channels, though how they managed it.” her voice trailed off. “Friend you’re another from the place called Forsythe?”

“Yeah. That’s home” She replied. “Stripes, by the way”

“I always thought him a liar. He’d said much the same. I shall have to have further discussions with our marksman.” Fiona responded

“Your companions are quite fascinating. I think we should find some time to discuss them at length Marcus” Maybel said sidling closer to him as she said it.

“So, we good? Some info for a bed you weren’t using?”

“Yes. I think I’d rather like to have them.” Maybel said, looking to Fiona who returned a nod.

Shortly after the ferry arrived, and they made their way to the strange city of adventurers that sat in the middle of this large lake. They saw spire first. A tall stone tower maybe fifteen meters wide, sat some quarter mile from an island off to its west with all the space between them was filled with wood, or pier, or boat lashed together to form a bridges. The island itself was completely covered by architecture from what they could see. He’d heard it was a strange town but considering three quarters had to be built on the water, was not what he’d expected.

Their boat pulled up to a side of another boat, and various boards were extended allowing the passengers to disembark. Marcus and the girls stepped out onto the streets of this strange city, with some trepidation, their footing being strange on the bobbing city. Fiona and Maybel led them down various paths, across boarding blanks fastened with nails to decks, on boats whose rails had been long since stripped away.

There were the occasional large boat, or great pontoons where a square, or something of the sort would be setup. Some actually having a layer of dirt upon them that were steady enough to trick the mind. Before long they found their way over to vessel, it looked like it was once a sizable sailing vessel, perhaps fifteen meters in length, a small cabin on the aft but only a stump remained where its mast was likely to have been.

They stepped down the stairs to get below deck, they were led through a few smaller rooms till they were dumped into a messy room. Random baubles, piles of clothes, assorted artifacts, lay scattered everywhere through the room. “So, this is our friends room.”

“These dangerous?”

“I’d hope not.” Maybel said

“Nope. None of them are worth much of anything. Unless being blue for a week is dangerous. That’s about the worst of what she keeps in there.” Fiona shrugged. Marcus and the girls set to work cleaning up the space at least enough to let them move around, and setting some of their own belongings down.

Marcus stepped back into the hallway, grabbing Fiona before she had a chance to get far. “Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for this. As a side note, what do you have on this marksman guy?”

“I know the guild he’s in. He’s apparently really predictable, only takes certain kinds of jobs. Works with only one other adventurer. Big game apparently.”

“Sweet, I mean you can just tell us where that is unless you’d wanted to tag along.”

“I think.” and she trailed off. “Well I think I should like to go.”

“Cool, you got other plans for this afternoon or?” he arched an eyebrow. “We’re just trying to do this sooner than later you know. Not a hard time crunch but. We’ve got people waiting is all. See you outside in ten?”

“Sure.” She smiled. “And if we get this done today, we can figure out something fun to do tonight.” She smiled, her face growing flush. He’d really have to get on to Singer later.