Generic Fantasy Stat RP Chapter 1

[Rothene]

Year 1191, Western Nialp

Ken swung the blade in his hand in a swift upward motion, causing it to point at the rising sun, only to bring it slicing downward a split second later. The sword was one of the two handed swords the Tsaens of the eastern coast were proficient in making.

Back in the days of old when Tsae was ruled by cruel warlords, the eastern group had little to no access to the better mines and quality metals of those who controlled the mountains and forests. To make up for their poor quality metals, the blacksmiths of the eastern region made use of the way to fold the metal in its forging to increase the density of the blade from some Letamite blacksmiths that had crossed the Letam-Tsaen border many generations ago. Nowadays, any blade forged in that manner are called Katana's by Tsaens, and Killer Edges by the other nations.

Long ago, it was only able to emulate the quality of better quality metal blades, but when the eastern group finally fell to the first emperor of Tsae, the technique was shared among the rest of Tsae, so that the technique could finally be married to the better quality metal of the Tsaen mines. It was a great achievement for Tsae, although the Letamites had already made practical use of the technique with their superior metal and precious Mythril generations before them.

Despite the less than glorious perception of the Katana's history to people beyond Tsae, Ken felt compelled to honour the precious blade in his hand. He was told by his grandfather that it was passed down through many generations by his ancestors from the eastern group, being one of the earliest Katana's made in Tsae and reforged many generations with newer and better metal to achieve its near perfect form today. Ken never dwelled on how the blade came to the hands of his ancestors who were simple servants in times of old, nor did he ever question the validity of such a tale. All that mattered to him, was that he had a good sword in hand to master his one passion, that was to take the knowledge of swordsmanship to new heights.

Carefully practicing his stances and strikes, Ken felt the gaze of someone watching his bare frost bitten back. He always trained half naked in the cold, in order to toughen his body, even if he was told off by wiser people. Pausing from his practice strokes briefly, Ken turned around swiftly to face his observer. The Tsaen saw another Tsaen who was merely a child quickly bolting away. He recognised the green robes around the boy as it belonged to none other than the son of one of the many Lords of the Tzang clan. Roune Tzang, thought Ken as he recalled the name of the boy.

Annoyed at how easily he was distracted, Ken sheathed his katana and picked up a piece of cloth he left lying on the grassy land beneath him. Methodically, he began wiping off all the sweat he had worked up during the practice. Slowly letting loose some mist with his breath into the chilly Nialpian winter air, Ken chuckled lightly. As a child, he had always enjoyed watching the mist released through speech of people during winter vanish to nothingness. He never knew why he enjoyed the childish spectacle, nor did he care what would others think about him for such habits.

As he slowly let fly a few more puffs to lighten his mood, Ken noticed a large group of horse riders travelling in the distance. As soon as he saw their attire and the children among them, Ken deduced they were Nialpian tribesmen, prompting him to rush to the guard captain of the Tsaen traders whom he currently followed for safe passage through the unruly lands of Nialp.

Locating the guard captain was easy, for no one else among the mass of Tsaens mobilising the various caravans wielded a sword as big as the one slung on the powerful shoulders of the tall western Tsaen overseeing the entire group. The fact the tall man occasionally barked orders to nearby Tsaen soldiers was also a big indicator of his post. Ken paused for a moment to both marvel and scoff at the large blade the man had. It was a thick sword, with a serrated edge.

Tsaens called it a Zanma Dao, horseslayer in the tongue of outsiders. The blade was three quarters as tall as its owner, while the hilt was an arm's length meant to be wielded by two hands. Ken respected the powerful impact of the weapon, famed to be able to cleave riders and horses together in twain, a very important weapon in fending off Nialpian raiders. But such a weapon was all brute force, not capable of anything of the graceful swings of a katana, the only beauty it accomplished being its invocation of death throes and despair in the souls of horse riders

Calling out to the man, Ken shouted, "Chaen Lang! Nialpians approach from the north!"

***

Chaen Lang gazed lazily at the crowd before him. Traders, to his annoyance, were far slower than the average conscript when it came to waking up before daybreak and keeping their bedrolls. Most insisted on having their lavish breakfast before slowly changing to their travel wear in their caravans before finally being ready to set off. Long after the slowest of his own personal men were ready to march, the first of the traders had only began to approach his caravan in order to get a new set of clothing. Throughout their journey, there had been none of the anticipated Nialpian raids. The few potential ones quickly fled as soon as he drew his weapon.

Hearing Ken call to him caught his attention swiftly.

"Raiders?" asked Chaen Lang turning towards the young Tsaen, his hopes soaring for some action. Shaking his large mane lightly to contain his excitement, Chaen Lang reached for his sword. He never did love battle too much. But for weeks he had not been able to put his skills to the test and no one, not even the devoted swordmaster in training was able to put up a good fight for him. He sought battle, not so much for the joy of beating an opponent, but rather the joy of feeling his skills have been worth learning.

"No sir. They seemed to be moving at a slow pace," answered Ken, "I'm not sure about their intentions as I'm not familiar with Nialp, but I swear I spotted children among them."

"Nialpians never bring their family to raids. They probably aren't hostile," said Chaen Lang pondering on how should he approach the moving group of Nialpians, "Anyway...MEN! Be on guard, Nialpians approach!"

***

Quidel watched from a distance as the Tsaen traders started packing their belongings swiftly. He drew in a deep breath, then rode forward on his mount. As chieftain of the Sayen tribe, it was his duty to speak to ward off any potential threats. With his large feather head dress donned on his head as a sign of his position, Quidel confidently approached the Tsaens without showing any signs of fear. Speaking in Common, Quidel raised his right hand as a sign of greeting that all southern Nialpians used. Southern Nialpians, the minority among the Nialpian tribes, are more closely related to the people of Aes while northern Nialpians tend to share common heritage with Tsaens and Letamites.

While northern Nialpians were occasionally mistaken as Tsaens, southern Nialpians were easily identified with their reddish skin and general friendliness. Though nomads like the northern Nialpians, they till the land gently and leave behind young growths in hopes that in the future when they return, there would be some strong plants left to cultivate.

Due to their peaceful nature, their tribes tend to be more inviting to traders and would yield territorial ground to their fiercer northern Nialpian cousins. Althought not at the cost of sacrificing their entire tribe.

Upon seeing Quidel, the Tsaen traders let out a sigh of relief while some of the older ones walked forward to greet him. Quidel smiled at them. He recognised some of the traders and knew immediately what to do.

Whistling to the rest of his tribesmen, the whole group moved forward to meet each other. Chaen Lang did not even bother looking out for attacks. The average Tsaen who lived on the western borders knew that it was usually safe to assume that southern Nialpians were generally peaceful.

As the traders and tribesmen mingled, Chaen Lang wondered if he should call off the march for the day.

~~~

Year 1191, Eastern Emocni

A young Emocnian with the typical dark brownish features of the average sun baked Emocnian sat comfortably on the edge of a fountain in a large estate with a tome and a letter. After he finished studying the tome, the young man opened the letter and frowned as soon as he started reading it.

Moments later, the same Emocnian was seen riding away on horseback from the estate and headed east, towards the Emocnian-Nialpian border outpost Aman.

***

Aman, eastern outpost of Emocni, was built around an oasis that featured a grassy eastern side, while the west was all rolling sands that were held at bay by Emocnian wind magic. The large underground caches of water made it a valuable resource for the dehydrated Emocnian nation. The water was transported to the rest of the eastern parts of Emocni annually to keep the nation alive. Hence to protect such a precious resource, the Emocnians surrounded it with huge walls made of sand and reinforced with the Dark magic of Gluttony to consume the raging sands, which in turn reinforced itself.

All first time visitors would always marvel at the towering walls of shifting sand that felt solid to the touch, yet seemed to always be moving all the time. Unfortunately, the outpost has not been seen fit to be expanded to widely as that would make it too vulnerable. As a result local population was kept to a minimum and housing areas were few. The many sand buildings in it were only built to provide temporary accomodation for travellers and traders, the driving force behind Emocnian economy.

In the outpost of Aman, the cheapest accomodation that people would find would be Agrah, a rather spacious tavern reputed for its poor quality of sustenance. It was also infamous for being the only establishment that charges its patrons for a cup of water. The only attractive feature it had was that it sold things at an extremely low price, although the quality was worth far less. Patrons were able to live there for a few nights for free if they were willing to sleep on its rather clean floors, so long as patrons paid for their meals and proved to not make a mess of the floor. The tavern owner held no responsibilities to what became of patron's belongings that are left unguarded as they sleep, thus making the place a prime target for thieves and poor adventurers.

A better choice for the less seasoned traveller would be the Kabina, an inn that provided decent food for reasonable price with overcharged living quarters. Travellers who lack the confidence to look after their belongings tend to find themselves forking out chunks of their gold to afford a place to stay in the Kabina. Most end up sharing rooms with various people in order to lower their expenses.

The best place in the outpost would be Mariyar, the tallest building in Aman that housed many floors and serve part time as a lookout tower. Patrons there had to pay as much as an entire year's worth of salary of the average Emocnian labourer for a night in order to rest in comfort of their luxurious rooms. The walls and ceilings were made of special enchanted Emocnian clay that absorbed heat by day and released it by night, keeping the room at an average temperature. The food sold was of better quality than its competitors, but not by far, at reasonable prices. The catch being they only sold food to patrons who would spend the night at the Mariyar.

Characters may start anywhere nearby the mentioned areas. I know this is earlier than the stated time I originally intended to post...but I rather be early than late as I should have been asleep 6 hours ago.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Rothene

[Zsword]

Zoey slowly sat up in the cot that the Nialpans had given her. She stretched with a yawn, and glanced around.... they had stopped.... odd. She turned to her tender, the one who had been watching over her since the Tribe had founder her starving and unconcious out on the plains. "What's going on?"

"Trading Caravan."

"Oh..."

"Can see, if you feel good." The caretaker said, giving Zoey's armor another inspection for no particular reason. Zoey nodded happily and stood up, re-adjusting the tunic that she had bought from the Tribe, and walked out to the traders, curious to what might be sparking along.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

Qian started setting up his little make shift stall with his caravan alongside his peers. Chaen Lang had delayed the march for the day at the behest of Lord Tzang. The reason behind such an action by a clan lord was that he wanted to provide the opportunity to teach himself and his son about southern Nialpians up close.

Traders like Qian, decided it was their best interest to capitalise on their current situation by selling some of their Tsaen wares to the Nialpians at reasonable prices, though reserving the best stock for the Emocnian marketplace. He scratched his wrinkly yellowish skin and looked at the tribes people huddling to look at what he and the other traders had to offer. They would resume their journey at noon, hence the wares were displayed in a simple, less showy manner. Some of the traders decided to approach the Nialpians to check for any exotic goods to barter for.

Under an hour, both sides successfully put up a minor market zone, each owner yelling out the value of their goods.

***

Quidel smiled lightly as he observed the mingling of the Tsaens and his tribes. The lack of coming to blows in these troubling times with news of a larger northern Nialpian tribe swallowing smaller tribes was a blessing by the ancestors to the chieftain. He was mildly surprised to see some northern Nialpians among the Tsaen traders, whom he presumed acted as guides for them as they looked young, at the age when Nialpian youths have a desire to seek adventure in the lands beyond Nialp. Why should I be surprised, mused Quidel as he chuckled lightly, afterall we have a Letamite guest among us.

Quidel's youngest daughter Saqui, a girl in her late teens, who had taken an interest in their 'guest' decided to look for her to check the trader's wares together. Finding her quarry, Saqui called out to the peculiar Letamite with exotic red eyes excitedly in common, "Zoey! Want to come look at the Tsaen stalls with me?"

Purchasable items for this event and only to those within the area( Watch you gold ):

Tsaen Traders:

Vulnerary: 20 Gold

Recovers target's Hp by 10

Elixer: 70 Gold

Recovers target's Hp by 30

Torch: 15 Gold

Character does not suffer the effects of Fog of War or Darkness for the entire battle per use. 3 uses.

Tsaen Flash Pellet: 15 Gold

Reduces the Hit of all enemies in target enemy team by 2 that lasts for 3 rounds, does not stack with itself. 3 uses.

Tsaen Lightning Rod: 50 Gold

Has a 50% chance to reduce target enemy in enemy team's Eva to 0 for 3 rounds. 5 uses.

Nialpian Traders:

Vulnerary: 20 Gold

Recovers target's Hp by 10

Antidote: 15 Gold

Removes Poison effect from target. 3 uses.

Torch: 15 Gold

Character does not suffer the effects of Fog of War or Darkness for the entire battle per use. 3 uses.

Nialpian Eye Cleanser: 15 Gold

Reduces Hit reduction effect on target by 3, does not increase Hit on target beyond their base Hit chance. 3 uses.

Nialpian Herbs: 35 Gold

Recovers target's Hp by 15 or removes Poison effect. 3 uses.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Rothene

[Zsword]

Zoey blinked and jumped a bit, turning to the young NIalp that had addressed her. "Oh, uh, sure, I guess..." she said, still sounding exhausted from the ordeal of getting lost in the Plains. "Maybe they'll have some food..." Because, when you spend three days out starving in the middle of no-where, food tends to stay on the mind.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

"Food?" asked Saqui looking at her companion for a moment, then when realisation struck her, she let out a gasp and said, "Ah, right! I forgot, you have not eaten yet."

Pointing to a short and portly Nialpian middle aged woman, Saqui said, "You can ask Koura to heat up some of the left over breakfast we had. We had saved some stew of the condor we caught yesterday. In the mean time I'll look at some of those jewelry the Tsaens have, see you later!"

***

Koura took out the pot of her signature stew and started heating it as she wondered about purchasing some Tsaen spices to flavour it. She had heard their guest had finally woken up, which meant she would be hungry. Good timing though, I can get the girl to help me fetch some of those Tsaen spices, thought Koura as she started counting out some gold in hand.

***

Ken walked among the Nialpian camps, keeping an eye out for anyone who brandished a sword with the confidence of a swordmaster. Wisdom of swordmanship can be gleened from anywhere, and Ken desired to acquire it. Chaen Lang's technique was too heavily reliant on powerful sweeps, vastly different from the swift strokes Ken sought. Sadly for the Tsaen, they were mostly armed with throwing axes and bows.

Sighing to himself, Ken was about to turn away when he spotted a fair skinned female figure among the reddish sea of southern Nialpians. Interesting, a foreigner in foreign lands, thought Ken gripping his katana excitedly, maybe she knows how to swing a sword properly.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Rothene

[eclipse]

Alena looked around. According to the map she'd. . .uh, acquired, she'd hit Aman, an Emocni trading post. She had spent most of her gold on things to keep her alive, and wasn't keen about stealing her dinner again. However, she probably wouldn't be lucky enough to find charity in such a place. Maybe a caravan needed an extra guard? She walked into the trading post, doing her best not to look lost.

[Rothene]

Eastern Emocni, Aman

Qaahir laughed heartily as he walked out of the tavern Agrah, pocket heavier than when he entered. Few fighters were as skillful as he was, and thus far he had not lost a single public game of axe throwing ever since he started this whole adventuring business. Downing flagons of ale was insufficient to lower his accuracy back then, but now with few things to keep his mind occupied, the alcohol was starting to get to his head.

Feeling slightly giddy, he grabbed onto the nearest person he could get his hands onto...a young Aesean girl trying her best to not look lost and asked in Common, "Heya...lass...ulp, mind guiding my stepsss...I..rrr need ta' make mah way ta Kabinaaaarrr..." at which point he shifted slightly, nearly losing his balance as he fought the urge to throw up.

~~~

Somewhere in central Emocni...

Omair paused on his horse, Hakkibe. Sensing the halting motion of its master, Hakkibe stopped and looked forward as it awaited its master's command. Omair smacked his head lightly and said aloud, "I'll never make it to Aman in time dammit!"

Turning Hakkibe around, Omair rode back to the estate in order to get one of the sages hired by his father to warp him as close to Aman as possible, possibly saving countless hours worth of travel.

[eclipse]

Alena backed away cautiously. The man's purse looked very tempting, but she was far more concerned that he'd throw up all over her. And what about this Kabinar? Maybe she could find work there? Reasoning with a drunk wasn't her strong suit, but it had to be better than stealing her way across Emocni!

"Excuse me, sir, but why do you need to go to Kabinar?"

[Rothene]

Eastern Emocni, Aman

Managing to master his liquer briefly, Qaahir paused for a while and said, "Ah...sorry about that lass. I was speaking of Kabina, one of the better inns around here."

Qaahir then held up a weak hand as he slowly backed away to one of the alleys and emptied his contents quickly. Not turning back to face Alena in case he had more to release, the Emocnian said now more or less sober, "I wanna get some breakfast there. The ale in Agrah was a bad idea," he purged more of the alcohol from his body and continued, "but what to do when one's challenged to test one's ability while drunk, eh?"

Standing straight now, he said jovially, "Well, I feel generous today lass. What say you join me for breakfast as I spend my winnings? You look like you could use some meat on those bones. All for the small price of following me there...and helping me keep my balance. Unless you have some errands to run or family to return to?" finished Qaahir raising a bushy eyebrow while folding his well muscled arms to look...imposing.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Rothene

[eclipse]

Alena was somewhat relieved when the drunk in front of her emptied his stomach elsewhere. Breakfast sounded good, but the smell in this area was less than appetizing. Her more cautious side told her to be careful; her practical side told her that an empty stomach would be worse.

"Uh, sure, lead the way," she said unsteadily. When I left Aes, I never would've imagined that I'd start my journey by having some drunk buy me breakfast!

[Rothene]

Eastern Emocni, Aman

Wasting no time, Qaahir immediately set off to Kabina at a slow, careful pace which was a few streets away, gesturing to Alena to follow him. He then grumbled sheepishly as he took proper notice of Alena's muscles, "Err...now that I think about it, you might not have the neccessary strength to actually help support me. I suppose you could at least kick me awake if I ever fell unconcious."

A few steps more and Qaahir was amazed that his mind cleared much faster than he thought it would, that his foot steps became steadier much earlier than he had expected. If he knew that his recovery would have been so soon, he would not have needed the help of the Aesean girl, allowing him to keep more of the gold to himself. Well, one can never be too careful, thought Qaahir, at least I'm doing a good deed by distributing my wealth to feed the needy.

***

It did not take long for the duo to reach Kabina, the inn most travelers go to eat...and never stay. Getting a table was not difficult as it was already late morning, and most of the usual patrons had already left.

Sitting comfortably near the window, the now appropriately sober Qaahir ordered some Emocnian bread with slices of dried lamb seasoned in spices and goats milk yogurt before turning to ask Alena, "What would you be having lass?"

[Psych]

Fix'd

Edited August 30, 2011 by The Magnificent Psykini

[Zsword]

Zoey moaned, and walked over to the food stand that the girl had told her about. With a weak smile she looked up and gave the stall a small knock on the counter. "excuse me miss.... I heard you could help me out with some food?" She asked pleedingly.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

Koura looked at the Letamite who asked her for food and grinned widely, "Ah yes, I have your share of breakfast right here. Unfortunately, it's being heated up right now," taking some coins out of her pouch, Houra thrusted them to Zoey's hands and said with commanding tone, "Would you kindly buy me a bit of every Tsaen spice they have on offer? It would go very well with the stew."

[Zsword]

Zoey sighed, catching the coinds wearily. "Uh... sure..." She said, turning and trudging over to the Tsaen side of the stalls.... eventually coming off to a man hocking off some food gear... she was tired... and hungry... and didn't want to deal with this bull shit. "Excuse me sir, can I buy some spices from you?" She asked the salesman... not wanting to put up with his malarky.

[eclipse]

Alena looked at the food in front of her, erm, sponsor. It looked a bit unfamiliar, but good.

"I'll take whatever he's having", she said hastily.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

Seeing a Letamite out in Nialp was surprising for Qian. But she held gold in her hands, a universal language that any civilised folk would understand.

"Spice? You seek spice? Excellent, I just happen to have quite some stock I have in a bundle," said Qian happily as he took out a very small pouch of the reddish black plants that gave Tsaen cuisine the 'bite' outsiders call it, "This here would normally be sold at two hundred gold in Emocni, but for this special occasion, I'm selling it at fifteen gold."

Edited August 30, 2011 by Rothene

[Zsword]

Zoey slowly counted out the money, and passed it to the merchant. "Why so cheap?" she asked, taking the bag herself. "That's quite the defisate..." not that it matters if it's low quality... I'm not staying here long or anything...

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

"Haha, never really seen the world of trading have you now girl? I'll warn you, stuff sold in Emocni's has their price inflated way beyond their normal costs because we traders have to go through such hardship and distance to sell our wares. Travelling expenses you know. Also the risk we take, being in danger as we travel, and the bodyguards some of use hire aren't free," counting the money and sure it was the correct ammount, Qian handed the pouch to Zoey and continued, "Besides, people pay a lot for things they don't naturally have in their own nation, so everyone's satisfied to a certain degree despite the soaring prices."

[Zsword]

Zoey nodded in understanding, grabbing the spices and walking off quietly. She returned to the food lady and set the bag of spices on the counter of her stall. "Okay... I got your spices... can I eat now?" she asked, her stomach grumbling loudly to emphasize she was hungry.... also setting the change from the purchase on the counter as well.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

Koura could not help but laugh out loudly upon hearing the growling stomach of Zoey and quickly chopped some of the spice Zoey brought her as soon as she calmed down. She then proceeded to add some fine bits of them to Zoey's bowl as she poured the stew into it.

Handing it over to Zoey, Koura grinned and said, "Careful, these are very hot," with a wink.

Koura means to say, these are SPICY

Edited August 30, 2011 by Rothene

[Zsword]

Zoey just shook her head, and sat down at a nearby table, and started to just gulp down her stew. The lady wasn't kidding when she said HOT, this stew had enough spice to burn a hole through her mithril armor, but she didn't care, starving now, burning later... she kept gulping down the bowl ravenously... ignoring the facts that she knew she was going to regret it later.

[Rothene]

Western Nialp

Ken watched as the Letamite girl purchase some spice, returned to the Nialpians and started eating. He patiently waited as it was not honourable for a warrior to disturb another when she was eating. It was rare for the womanfolk in Tsae to be cambative, but Ken knew that those who dwell beyond the civilised lands of Tsae still have womenfolk who can fight well, like the rumoured all female warrior priests that Letam had.

Maybe she's one of them, thought Ken basing solely on the fact that Zoey was a foreigner. He did not know what a Letamite realy looked like, and based on himself, a warrior need not be all large and muscular.

Just as he was about to walk towards her and ask her to accept a formal challenge, a small form swiftly ran past him, causing him to stop and watch it instead.

***

Roune had managed to escape his father while he was distracted talking to the chieftain of the Sayen tribe. Being only twelve, Roune could not stand sitting down and listening to the adults talk boring things, like what season was the best to drink tea or smoke pipes. He wanted to amuse himself the way some mages do. By finding other people to exercise his magical prowess on.

Seeing a pale skinned girl's face turning bright red due to what she was eating, Roune immediately deduced she was eating something spicy involving Tsaen spices. After all, he knew that look all too well. Ok, I shall help her out, thought Roune mischieviously.

Rushing forward, he stood a metre away from Zoey and opened the tome in his hand and proceeded to read from it. As he did so, the tome began glowing slightly as the Spirits of the Wind slowly gathered to him. Wind magic was the best any child could learn, for in their innocence and naivity, they would believe that the magic would work, and Spirits of the Wind treasure such belief. Slowly, a small ghostly crystaline spider crawled out of Rounes chest and danced around him, 'snaring' a Spirit with it's ethereal web.

The crystaline spider then crawled into the Spirit, merging with it to gain a wispy form as if it was made of wind instead of crystal. The 'spider' then started crawling around the air surrounding Zoey leaving behind an ethereal thread as it passed. All these could not be seen by the mundane eyes, only those 'awakened' with their Spirit Self could see it through their magical senses.

When the 'web' was complete, the 'spider' started shaking the 'web' causing it to throb with magical energy. Small breezes began buffeting the Letamite who was in the centre of it all, banishing away the heat from her body and causing her hair to wave in ever changing directions, all the while Roune stood in deep concentration.

[Rothene]

Eastern Emocni, Aman

While waiting for breakfast to arrive, Qaahir decided to kill time by getting to know who was he currently feeding. "So what brings you to Emocni lass? You look about my age when I first left home to see the world..heh that was like some ten years ago..." Qaahir trailed of slightly in deep thought, "Heh, those were the days. Had I not had the fortune to travel with some friends, I'd not be sitting here waiting for a good meal."

[eclipse]

Alena did her best not to shift her eyes down. What was she supposed to say? "I'm a fugitive from Aes, and if that official learns I'm here, he'll spare no expense to drag me back home and have me hanged. Then, he'll do the same to the rest of my family." Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"My parents in Aes thought it was time for me to marry a man far older than you. I disagreed, so I ran away, in search of my own life. I hope to come home one day, and show them that I can live on my own!"

The lie sounded convincing, even to her. She hoped the man sitting across from her believed it.