Whatever else was discernable about this village, one thing was for certain: They were not welcome here.

It was not accounted to their robe colors, nor to the mere fact that they were mages. No, the villagers simply had an air of hostility about them. In the flashing lightning and pounding rain, they sloshed through the mud, going about their mechanical business under dark cloaks and raised cowls. Some glared. The majority didn't even deign to glance up.

They were not welcome here.

In fact, if not for the brutally escalating storm, they wouldn't have even stopped there at all.

One day out of Wayreth, they were bound for the Ruins of Goodlund once known as the Tower of Losarcum. They'd traveled parallel to the Kharolis before reaching a pass through the mountains. An hour into this pass, the skies darkened and the storm struck.

"I believe I sight what passes for an inn," Ghyreian Nightsong remarked dryly to her companion, Edwin. She pulled her cloak tighter against the howling wind and driving rain.

_________________

(You know... I have no idea, if you intend this to be the place I think you mean, but I shall let you decide...)

Edwin hmhed quietly in returned as he gazed at the villagers behind them, whispering to each others, normally mages were avoided, but it seemed that now that the war had ended they feared them more than ever. Ecspecially black robes, that Ghyreian was. Edwin scrathed his chin quietly examining the inn and nodding.

"That should do..."

He rode to the stables or if you could call that, a shelter might have been more fitting before he swinged himself off the horse. He almost slipped his hand and fell back first into the mud as his other hand wasn`t exactly in servicable state. He took his staff and pushed the inn door carefully open, flashing an amused smirk at Ghyreian before entering. As he stepped in many turned to look at the arriving mages and Edwin simply igmored the gazes as he threw down his hood.

"Bloody rain water gets everywhere..."

He muttered in an annoyed tone as he knew that, if he was to be able to burn his pipe he would have to wait all tough he tried to keep the tobacco as dry as he could.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

[not certain what you mean... the village is just a random village. I forget does Edwin still have just one hand?]

Dripping wet and at the receiving end of glares from the villagers, Ghyreian followed Edwin. Her hood was still up, but if anyone bothered to look under the shadows they would have noted a mask of pure contempt. Her irascibility increased threefold when she noticed that all the tables by the fireplace were already occupied.

They took a seat in a dark corner. A lanky barmaid sauntered up, smirked lewdly at Edwin, and propped her elbow on the table. "What'll it be?" she demanded in low Common, edging closer to Edwin than was strictly necessary.

"Your finest wine," Ghyreian replied, "and whatever else you have that's edible, if anything."

_________________

"Could be worse"

Edwin muttered as he examined some of the tobacco between his fingers that was currently unusuable, he grinned and placed it back in the small pouch. He made a quick scan trough the room they were in, usual customers and travellers minding their own business all tough the mages usually did receive many unfriendly gazes. The fear of their powers had always been obvious and because ordinary folk did not understand such power, the mages were hated.

"Sort of reminds me of.... hah.. no, that place was far more peaceful and cosy than this..."

He said with an amused smile as he gazed again at the room where someone slept his head against the table and his beer spilled all over the table.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

The barmaid sashayed back over and set down their food and wine. Ghyreian picked up her fork and eyed the food dubiously. It suspiciously resembled horse manure... Her appetite compromised, she set the platter aside and reached for the wine.

"I don't mind their fear," she commented as a sidenote.

_________________

Edwin sipped his wine and gazed down at his food with an appriciative smile, but tsked as Ghyreian made her sidenotice about the fear of commoners.

"Fear might make them act violently or rudely and that would ruin the athmosphere not to mention we would not receive any peace anywhere..."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian snorted and took a small sip of her wine. It, too, tasted somewhat like horse manure. Then she looked back up, and her eyes widened. "Speaking of which..."

There, forming a tight circle around the table, were the villagers. Dim firelight glinted on their steely eyes. In their hands, they bore pitchforks, hoes - anything that could serve as a weapon.

"A fine village you boast," Ghyreian began, slowing standing up.

The mob's leader stepped forward. "Leave. Now."

_________________

"I would not try anything, if I were you"

Edwin said to both, Ghyreian and the mob as it appeared unless he wouls step in this might get ugly considering that Ghyreian wasn`t the most gentle person with angry mobs. No, she would have prefered to blast the ignorant fools to the abyss probbaly, if it was possible and practical of course.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Interestingly enough, blasting these ignorant fools into the Abyss was exactly what Ghyreian was plotting. She glanced askance at Edwin and mulled over his words. Perhaps waiting would be the best tactic after all. "And what would provoke such hospitality... or sheer lack of it?" she said casually, her hand edging towards her spell pouches nonetheless.

"You and your gods-blasted mages," a woman in the front lines spat. "Razed our village to the ground, you did."

"And we would do it again," she threatened, "if you don't back away."

The leader nodded at their half-drained cups. "The wine. Poisoned. Slow, but effective. The antidote will be yours... after you leave."

_________________

Edwin grinned as he looked at the goblet in his hand.

"EArgh.... now why would you spoil perfectly good wine... I should have known better as I tasted this... or well then again you can`t exactly call this wine..."

He said with smile and he grabbed Ghyreian by the arm so that she wouldn`t do anything violent.

"Very well we leave and you give us the antidote, but... you must also let us refill our supplies... fair enough?"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

The villagers openly sneered, but the leader seemed to ponder this. At length he nodded at the innkeeper, who bustled away into the kitchen.

Meanwhile Ghyreian shot Edwin a glare that could have frozen a hot spring. She tried, unsuccessfully, to extract her arm.

The innkeeper returned with a bundle of food in his chubby arms. "Bread and cheese," he grunted. "And you'll be paying double for that."

_________________

"Certainly..."

Edwin said and handed over the money, funny how after two hours the villagers would realise that they would be have been betrayed or at least the bartender.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian noticed the illusion but somehow managed to keep a straight face. The bartender accepted the coins, eyed them warily, before tucking them into a small pouch at his belt. The leader of the mob opened the inn door and pointedly gestured for them to leave.

The storm hadn't abated yet when they stepped outside. Irascibly, Ghyreian pulled her hood over her head and went to go fetch her horse.

_________________

Edwin grinned and threw his hood over his head, still there was no appriciation for mages except amongst themselves and the war of the lance certainly had not improved their standing by any measure. Or well, if it was measuring how feared mages were then yes that had grown from the past. Edwin followed Ghyreian and grabbed his horse, the mob walked behind them and Edwin could feel their angry stares in his back. Edwin gazed at Ghyreian and shrugged slightly at their current situation as she was undoutably boiling inside. To be humiliated and thrown out by mere peasants, but at least Edwin had controlled her and that was what he found amusing.

He actually had some influence over her, until this day she had been doing what she wanted or what was the best solution. This peaceful option had it`s problems yet Edwin was surprised they were even that path at the moment. Edwin grabbed the horses reins and pulled after him, it followed reluctantly him out of the shelter yet did not put up much of a fight. Edwin walked quietly towards the edge of the village besides Ghyreian as they were escorted by the mob of peasants. At window every house they passed were the faces of children and those who had not joined the mob staring at the two mages being forced out of their village. They were all so frightened for they knew that with enough words out of mages mouths, the village could be in flames.

Edwin finally turned around just before the edge of the village with a big smile on his face and extended his hand with his palm facing upwards.

"We have honourably upholded our part of the agreement and payed you a little extra for the supplies that you kindly sold us, now I wish that you hold your end of the bargain..."

He spoke with a calm and friendly voice as, if the villagers hadn`t even hated him at any point.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian sat on her horse in the rain and glared at the villagers. She was already shivering with alternating heat and cold - early effects of the poison, no doubt. A healer among them fished in his pockets and brought out a small sack, which he handed to Edwin.

"Take your antidote and never come back."

Quite to the contrary, Ghyreian was already plotting how she would someday return and blast this insolent village to the Dark Queen.

_________________

"Certainly, unless I get lost"

Edwin said with a smile as he received the antidote and examined it quietly afterwards as the villagers turned to leave. Edwin hmhed and took the half of the antidote, he grinned slightly and passed it over to Ghyreian. As Ghyreian would drink up the rest of the antidote, Edwin climbed upon his horse using his severed arm as a support as he placed the staff on the other side of the saddle. He then swinged himself on the horse and gazed quietly at the mob walking away from them, he shrugged slightly and gazed at Ghyreian.

"Well let us hope that the next villagers offer more generosity to mages than they did..."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!