As usual, the market of Stokbon was a bustling place. Tyris often felt like he fit right in in places like this- all the energy seemed to flow right into him and get him pumped for shopping- even though most of what was on sale was out of his league. Still, it was always good to take a look to see what was out there, especially since he was hoping to set out on another excursion soon. With a number of market stalls being dedicated to adventuring goods, Tyris would surely find some useful things. As he wandered between the shops, however, Tyris noticed something- or rather, someone- who seemed a bit out of place. While most of the other locals preferred to spend their time at the market looking for practical goods for day-to-day life, there was one old Felis lady who seemed, like him and the players, to be more interested in the adventure-oriented shops. Tyris didn't recognize her- he figured he would have known her long ears if he'd seen her before- but knew she wasn't a foreign newcomer. After he'd cut a deal with one of the merchants for a map to some interesting-sounding ruins, Tyris' curiosity finally got the best of him. He had to find out the story behind this old lady! So he waded through the market crowds, hoping to catch up to her at her next stop. "Hiya, ma'am," he said once he'd finally gotten close. "You look like you're gearing up to go somewhere fun," he noted with a grin. @Amrita
Ah, now wasn't this familiar? Some things never changed, even across kingdoms, and the hectic activity of a marketplace was one of them. She passed by a few stalls selling sheets of cloth, some people hawking jewelry--"Pendants made from real Zalran crystal!" she heard, though she had no idea what that meant--and some greengrocers as she headed for a stall that sold weaponry. She was running low on crossbow bolts and she'd have to stock up again before she left. Haggling was fun. Amrita grinned fiercely as she left the stall with her purchases tucked away in a pouch at her belt. Her coin purse was lighter than it had been, but these bolts would last her quite a while. As she turned to leave, however, a young boy smiled brightly at her and started making conversation. She raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed rather geared up himself. "I would be, if I knew where anywhere fun was," she said. "Just making sure I've got enough bolts for my bow. Might have to go hunting in a bit. Might not. I just see where my feet take me." A few people pushed past, obviously annoyed that they were chatting in the middle of the street. Amrita rolled her eyes and beckoned the kid towards her. "Get over here, let's get to the side before someone runs us over." Safely out of the way of any traffic, she then asked, "And you? Going out somewhere fun yourself?"
Luckily, the woman seemed kind enough; at least she wasn't one of those who would shoo away any "annoying kids". She mentioned needing to load her bow for hunting, which got Tyris even more interested. Indeed, she had a crossbow with her. Tyris often thought that if he were to carry a weapon it'd probably be a crossbow of some type- but he never really felt inclined to actually learn how to use one. Rauri would probably get upset if Tyris started learning how to use weapons, anyway. Moving out of the flow of traffic, Tyris responded to the woman with a nod. "Uh-huh! I'm gonna go look for treasure out in the woods," he explained. "I just got this map to some ruins I haven't been to before. Maybe there's some good stuff there that nobody's found." He unrolled the map and looked it over thoughtfully. "But even if there's nothing, it's fun just to look, right?" he added optimistically as he rolled the map up and tucked it away in a pouch. Of course, finding treasure is even more fun than just looking. From how she talked about seeing where her feet took her, Tyris thought that this lady probably liked adventures the way he did. "Oh yeah, my name's Tyris. Tyris Ferrell. What's yours?"
She looked curiously to the map that Tyris produced. It seemed to be a rather simplistic sketch, but it was clear enough in pointing out a few locations of interest. Amrita admitted that her own curiosity was piqued by the possibility of treasure. And going on a treasure hunt sounded like a far better idea than just wandering around the countryside until she stumbled on a town somewhere. Though as for why a young boy like Tyris was running around exploring ruins on his own... Well, there were a few possible reasons. Most of the explanations she could think of weren't good. Her first instinct was to ask if his family would be all right with him running about, but she refrained. No harm would come to him if she was there to watch over him, right? "My name is Amrita," she said. "And if you're going out to those ruins right now, would you mind if I came along? I don't care for the treasure, but it sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon."
Tyris smiled appreciatively at Amrita's request. "Sure, that'd be great. It'll mean Rauri won't have to come running after me if there's trouble," he said. He turned and waved to a young Felis girl, about the same age as Tyris, who was helping out at one of the market stalls. "Hey Rauri! Check this out!" After a brief discussion with the shopkeeper, the girl made her way through the crowd towards Tyris and Amrita. Her hair was a more reddish shade of brown than Tyris', had a purple streak down the middle, and was tied (along with her ears, apparently) into a topknot, but she shared the same facial markings and amber eyes as her brother. "What is it, Tyris?" she asked. "I got a cool treasure map and this lady's going to help me see what's there. Her name's Amrita and she can use a crossbow," Tyris explained excitedly. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Rauri said with a bow to Amrita. "I'm Rauri Ferrell. Tyris is my twin brother," she said, standing beside him as if to illustrate. "I hope you can keep each other safe out there." "You know it," Tyris answered, grinning.
Amrita watched as Tyris fetched another young Felis girl, who introduced herself as his sister. She smiled at the young girl. "Pleasure to meet you, Rauri. I'm Amrita. You've got my word that I'll look after your brother." It was good to see that she was worried for him. Hell, Amrita was worried for the both of them. They were so young, and yet it looked like they had nobody else. Rauri hadn't mentioned any parents worrying or something along those lines when Tyris had said he would be going out to the ruins. Well, that just settled it. Amrita was going to have to keep an especially watchful eye on the boy while they were heading out. "Well then, shall we go?" she asked Tyris. She gave a quick look over her supplies, making sure that she had everything she needed for a little excursion to the woods. "Lead on. You're the one with the map, after all." And there was also the fact that Amrita wouldn't know how to read a map even if she did have one. She had the vaguest, haziest memories of tracing her fingers over the lines of her parents' map to Dunnstads as a child... Bah. Well, what did it matter now, when Tyris knew where they were going?
"All right, we're ready. See ya soon, Rauri," Tyris said, giving his sister a goodbye wave before turning off in the direction leading to the city gates, pointing the way forward and marching away, full of confidence. As he traveled to the edge of the city, he frequently looked back to be sure Amrita was keeping up. At last, they passed beyond the city walls, and after checking the map again, Tyris once again pointed in that direction. "This way first," he declared, motioning to Amrita to follow. Now that the two Felis were alone, Tyris felt freer to talk. "So, what got you doing stuff like this? Adventures, I mean," he said. "It's great that you can keep doing it at your age. You must have a lot of good stories of great things you did when you were younger!" He imagined himself as an old man waving a cane around as he told a group of children about his childhood exploits.
Ah, the energy of youth. Tyris walked on at a quick pace, though he was considerate enough to keep checking back to make sure that she could still follow. Amrita huffed in annoyance as she pushed her way through the gates, trying not to lose sight of the boy. Didn't people know to stick to one side of the road when entering, and the other when leaving? That was the city for you. It was far calmer outside, once they had put some distance in between them and the city gates. The occasional carriage trotted down the road, one or two groups of merchants traveling on foot continued through the main gates of the city, but there weren't many people aside from them. Tyris checked their direction again on the map, and when they were sure that they were headed in the right way, their pace of travel became a bit more leisurely. "Not too many stories, I'm afraid," Amrita said, chuckling slightly at his eagerness. "My parents sailed across the ocean to reach Falderen, and they told me that traveling was in my blood. But life didn't lead me down that path. Until now, I suppose. You've probably had a much more exciting life than I did at your age."
