"Umm. Ok," said Savi. She looked at the clearance that they were rapidly moving away from, and was suddenly filled with worry and regret. Why are we doing this? She looked back at Laramie's head, and then looked at Bruno underneath them. She noticed the forest around them, and the sun in the sky. This is why. Adventure. Fun. She sniffed the vondlin flower that was still in her hair. And friendship.
She wasn't really sure how to 'sit' in an undefined space, but she did her best. "So, could you tell me how this works, considering I'm inside of it?"

"I'm not quite sure, actually. Never thought about it much." Laramie replied after a minute of thought. Bruno was loping along at a steady pace now, eating up the ground before them. The forest hills were slowly awakening to life on either side, birdcalls sweetening the morning air along with the fragrance of vondlin and sunroses.

"Hmm." Salvaria mumbled. Even though she had been wide awake earlier, the combination of intensive running and the meal had made her sleeply. And now, with the secure feeling of the pack around her and the gentle swaying... She was nodding off.

"Although, it might have to do with--" Laramie felt his friend slump slightly in his pack. Turning his head to figure out what happenned to his friend, he said, "... Savi?" His friend was slumped slightly to the side, rocked into a doze by Bruno's loping strides. Well, we can't have that... there ARE bandits on this road occaisionally, and this feels a little too... peaceful. "Bruno, hold. I need to wake Savi up." Leaping lightly off of Bruno, he laid his pack on the ground, Savi's head facing up. "Come on, lazybones, we're halfway to Aramance and you're asleep? I thought you were the nature child, not me!" He exclaimed, gently shaking the girl.

Salvaria was in a field, full of flowers of all shades. The butterflies were like paintings, and the beautiful birds came and landed on her finger. And then.... there was an earthquake. "Mmmmhmm...gah!" Salvaria awoke to Laramie shaking her. She squinted her eyes at the sudden brightness of the sun. "Oh... I guess I must have dozed off. Sorry." She fixed her hair and replaced the vondlin flower in her hair. She smiled big at Laramie. "Today is just a whole day of follies, huh? How about I walk?"

Laramie helped his friend out of his pack, shouldering it after he had done so. Handing Savi her staff, he said, "You might need this... It's too quiet, and I think-"

With a great snapping of twigs and rustling of branches accompanied with a couple war-whoops, a group of men and elves suddenly burst forth from the roadside forest, quickly surrounding the young pair. One elf stepped forward, apparently the leader of this little party. About 5'3" tall, he was dressed in black leather armor of a curious sort, etched with patterns of leafy vines that were emblazoned onto the armor in dark green, and had a black piece of cloth wrapped around his head as a headband. His long brown hair was shaggy and unruly, more truly a mane than anything else. A peregrine falcon sat on his shoulder, observing the pair with it's fiery orange eyes. He looked from Laramie to Salvaria, then back to Laramie, apparently sizing them up. "What be your purpose in these here hills?" he asked them roughly. "Ain't never seen you around these parts before."

Laramie, knowing Savi's ruthless mistrust of strangers, spoke up, sheathing his drawn daggers as he did so. His tone was oddly formal and respectful. He had an idea of who these men were, and hoped to the gods he was right, else this meeting might get ugly very fast indeed. "Laramie Sunriver, son of retired adventurer and merchant Dayle Sunriver, at your service. This is my friend, Salvaria Jaqux, daughter of Aria Jaqux. We hail from Joruman, city of the forested hills, and are travelling to the city of Aramance in the hope of making our fortunes there as adventurers." He paused, then looked the elf straight in the eyes, phrasing his next statement as if he was repeating a mantra. "We mean no harm to these forests or the animals they shelter, save those that we would take to feed ourselves. We mean no harm to our fellow traveller, and will aid them in a time of need. By the grace of Leaf and Star, let this be so."

Salvaria gripped her staff tightly, standing in a stance, ready for anything the vagabonds might throw at her or Laramie. "Back off!" She yelled. "We are just walking to the next town, if it's any of your business." She stared at each one in the eyes individually, and further bristled. They were heavily outnumbered, but Savi knew that she crack a few heads if it came down to it. She had height on the leader, for sure, and maybe if he went down, the others would scatter.

Bruno lept into action, recognizing that his boy saw these people as allies, or even friends. Taking Savi down by way of jumping on her, he locked his jaws around her staff and jarred it from her grip. Leaving the impact-stunned girl on the ground, he trotted over to Laramie and dropped it at his feet. Picking up the weapon, a stunned Laramie looked puzzedly at his friend, unsure as to why she would act in such a disrespectful manner. The group had made no hostile move towards them, and were now

laughing and applauding Bruno's performance, including the leader, who had been taken aback at the mention of Laramie's name. Now, though, he could see that this was indeed his old friend Dayle's son. Turning to Laramie, who was stammering out an apology for his friend's behaviour, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Think nothing of it, Laramie. I can see now you are undoubtedly Dale's son."

Bruno walked up to the elf and nudged his hand, wanting to be pet.

"And this fine fellow must be Bruno! By the gods, the last time I saw this dog was when he was barely a pup, as I was handing him over to your father, Laramie, as a gift for his yet unborn child. I see he's grown quite attached to you!" the elf chuckled, pleased at the look of recognition on Laramie's face. "But come, the day grows late, and I would invite you to our humble forest abode for supper and a place to rest. This road is no place to be for ones as young as yourselves after dark. What do you say?"

Salvaria sat up. She had had no idea that the group had known Laramie. She got to her feet and briskly walked over to the lead elf. "No disrespect, sir. But you must understand that being so abruptly surrounded by a group like yours would put me at unease." She curtsied. "Salvaria Meirlana Jaqux, how do you do. I am humbled by your offer after my actions, however, would you mind if I had a brief talk to Laramie?"

The elf bowed elegantly, as if the armor he wore was only silken cloth. Grinning amusedly, he said, "Cynicus Leafstep. Pleased to make your aquiantance, my lady. You may certaintly have a talk with him; he is, after all, your companion and not mine. Signalling to his men, the elf and his group retreated respectfully out of earshot.

Laramie turned to Savi, annoyed beyond all reason. "Salvaria! By the gods, why did you feel the need to threaten these men? They had made no hostile intent known to us, and their leader himself, an adventuring companion to my father before he had retired, stepped forward unarmed." He returned her staff to her, awaiting what she had to say.

"Well, Laramie. I am taking no chances out here, and if a group of men jumps out of the forest and surrounds us, I am not going to welcome them with arms wide open. And why should I trust them anyway? Who exactly are they?" Salvaria fumed at the indignity of being thrown on the ground, but then suddenly fell to the ground and started to bawl. "Laramie, I didn't know what to do. If they had come at us, we would have been dead," she sobbed. "I was so scared."

Sonofagoblin, she was scared. She was scared and now I made her cry. Swell. Imediatly falling down next to her, he took her into his arms as his nurse had done for him when he was scared as a young boy, which was kind of weird as she wasn't a halfling and therefore she was almost twice as big as he was. Rocking her gently back and forth, he whispered to her through her sobs, "Ssh, shh, shh, it's all right, Savi, it's alright..! We're okay, they weren't going to kill us, they're just doing their job..." He reached into a pocket, withdrawing a small vial. It was a mild sedative, made with vervain and mint leaf extract, along with spells of sleep and rest. From past experience with the mixture, Laramie knew that it wasn't bad tasting, more soothing really, and would hopefully knock Savi out until they got to Cynicus' encampment. "Here, drink this," he said soothingly, pressing the vial into Savi's hand. "It'll help with your nerves."

Salvaria hung in Laramie's arms for a little bit longer. She sniffled for a little bit longer, also, then hugged Laramie and stood. "Thank you," she said. She took the vial and drank from it. The smell was enough to calm her further. She finished the drink, and then stretched. "That was nice." She handed the empty vial back to Laramie. She got a dreamy look on her face, then she sat down again and promptly fell asleep.

Laramie shook his head in amusement as Savi proceeded to stand up, drink, then promptly fall back down, fast asleep. That should be good for a few hours... He thought, signalling for Cynicus and his men to come back.

Cynicus shook his head in amusement as well, when he saw what Laramie had done. "Yep, you're your father's boy alright. Ingenious use of that sleeping cordial. Now, would you like to sup with us this night? We can make a stretcher to carry your friend there, and it's not much of a hike.

Laramie, who smiled and gratefully inclined his head, replied, "Yes, and thank you. I wouldn't have the strength to carry her myself, and she can't ride Bruno while she's sleeping. She can't ride Bruno at all, really... He's too small. For her, anyways!"

The walk to Cynicus' encampment was indeed short, and they were welcomed with a cheer from the men who had stayed behind, although they immediatly quieted in puzzlement as they saw Laramie walking next to Savi, who was being carried by two of the men on a makeshift strecher.

In response to their silence, Cynicus stepped forward. "Ladies and men-at-arms of the forested hills, I bring to you great news this night! Earlier today, we confronted this halfling and his friend, thinking them trespassers to our lands." He shook his head, sadly. "My friends... We were sorely mistaken, for this halfling is none other than the son of our long-retired commander, Dayle Sunriver!" An even louder cheer erupted from the crowd than the first, but soon quieted as their leader spoke again. "But alas, upon the road his friend here has taken ill and fainted. I do believe we gave her quite the scare!" Cynicus chuckled, along with laramie and everyone else there. "Is there a healer here, a female, who will look after this child, and find her appropiate garments for this evening's festivities?" Cynicus asked, suddenly quiet, clearly having taken a liking to the young lass who had challenged him so fiercely and wanting to see her in good hands. A female elf in the fore of the crowd stepped forth. "I will, Commander," she said. "Good!" Cynicus replied, relieved. The healer motioned for the men carrying the stretcher to follow her, and they did, going into one of the far tents of the encampment.

"Now," Cynicus asked, his face alight with joy, "Who will show this fine young halfling around camp, and see to it he recieves garments for tonight's festivities?"

A great clamoring went up among the men gathered there, and Laramie hung his head, an embarrased smile on his face. it was odd to him to be anybody of importance, and he wasn't sure if he liked the feeling or not.

Cynicus finally chose another halfling by the name of Teak, who was only a few years older than laramie himself. Teak excitedly led Laramie about the camp, showing him the armory, the horse herds, the feasting halls, and the healer's tents. Many of the elves in the encampment remembered his father and asked after him, to which laramie replied that he was in good health and his business was doing well. teak eventually lead him to a scarlet-coloured tent, which blaringly stood out from among the rest. He explained that it was the clothing stores, and that Laramie could choose whatever he liked from among them to keep, and to wear later on that night.

Salvaria fought from the grips of an intense darkness that cleared from her mind. "Wha?" She sat up rapidly. Laramie! What the devil did he slip me?

"Please, ma'am. The Commander has asked that you change into these clothes. Will you require any assistance?"

Savi was suddenly aware of the elf standing over her. Is this... a servant? She was now amused at the fact that she had a servant. "No, thank you very much. I can change by myself. Though, after I change, would you be as so kind to lead me to Laramie Sunriver?"

"Yes, ma'am. Certainly" said the elf.

"Thank you again, ma'am," said Salvaria. After the elf left the room, she took off her cloak and clothes, and observed the dress she had been given. It was iridescent green, with darker green ivy climbing up from the bottom. It was very full at the bottom, floor length. The sleeves flared at the wrists. After putting it on, she admired herself in the mirror. The dress complimented her long body perfectly. She pulled her hair up, and used a length of twine to fix it in place. She walked outside of the tent and again met the elf.

"Ma'am, if I may say, you look beautiful."

"Oh, Miss...? You needn't call me Ma'am. You can call me Salvaria."

"Oh then... Salvaria, I shall lead you to Sir Sunriver now.

"Thank you." As she followed the elf, she smiled. Finally, now to give Laramie a piece of my mind...

Laramie ducked inside the tent, thanking Teak for being an excellent guide. When he took in the inside of the tent, his jaw dropped. There were open chests of fine clothes everywhere, apparently all sorted by style and color. Well, blue's my favorite color, so... He thought, wandering over to the blue section. They had an entire trunk full of halfling-sized clothing, all made out of silk of the finest grade. he had the idea that some of them were enchanted, also. Interesting... he pondered, pulling out an outfit he just knew he'd look good in. The outfit's cloth seemed to have some kind of magical resonance to it, he'd been around magic enough to know but, he couldn't quite place it. He shrugged, trying the outfit on.

The end result was nothing less than stunning. As Laramie looked at himself in a mirror he'd found, he was very pleased with how he looked. He was outfitted in all-midnight blue silk, a shimmering swath of the night sky, albeit with a slightly indigo shimmer. His semi-loose shirt had an open, v-neck collar with long sleeves that went halfway past his hands. His pants were made to match, loosely fitting against his legs and just barely brushing the floor past his boots. He wore a sash, also made of silk except black this time, that went around his waist like a belt, with purple embroidery at the end. He'd discovered there was two loops in the sash he sould hang his dagger sheaths from, and a hidden pocket as well. Into this pocket he put a few healing potions, along with a few other potions of various uses. He'd even managed to find a midnight-blue silk tie for his hair! Folding his clothes neatly, he was about to walk out of the tent when he heard someone approaching the entrance. I wonder how good a suprise entrance will look in this...? He wondered, quickly hiding in a pile of clothes and waiting to ambush whoever walked inside.

"Right this way, Salvaria. Sir Sunriver is in.....Sir Sunriver?" The elf leading Salvaria stepped in, and did not see Laramie.

"Oh, nevermind him, miss. This is just another of Laramie's antics." At this, she walked into the tent and walked over to the mirror. She noticed how well her bracelet matched with the dress. At second glance, Savi saw that the ivy on the dress seemed to sway when she walked, and slowly grow. Wow, elves are amazing. "He'll come out eventually," Savi said as she fluffed her hair.

Watching the pair from inside a large stack of clothes, Laramie debated as to what to do next. Damn! Savi grew up... I don't think I've ever seen her in a dress before? Anyway, back to mischeif making... He then lit upon an idea, grinning to himself and extracting himself extremely stealthily from the pile of clothes, which the women had walked past upon entering the tent. Queitly slipping out the tent flap, he adjusted his clothes and walked right back inside, pushing the flap open ahead of himself and fiddling with his sleeve as he did so. Upon re-entering the tent he looked up from his sleeve and started, as if he hadn't noticed Savi and the elf until just then. "Oh! I beg your pardon, ladies," he exclaimed, pretending not to recognize Savi in the dress. "I was just coming to retrieve my effects. I'm Laramie Sunriver, by the by. I'm sort of new here... I hope I didn't intrude on something?"

Salvaria turned from the mirror. "Oh, hi there Laramie. My, you look dapper in all of that silk." She smiled. "A big change from all of those hides you usually wear!" She laughed. She walked over to him, and then spun. "So, what do you think?"

Laramie did a double-take, apparently ''recognizing'' Savi for the first time. "Savi...? Savi! Oh my stars, you look amazing. My compliments to whoever picked the dress. No offense meant Savi, but I highly doubt it was you who picked that dress. Your sense of high-fashion has always been a bit negligible." He grinned wickedly, then did a 360-backflip and struck a pose, hands on his hips and one of his daggers somehow suddenly between his teeth. He arched his eyebrows playfully, then removed the dagger from his mouth with one hand and started flipping it and catching it by the blade, his other hand still on his hip. "Glad you like them! It's my favorite color," he chuckled.

Salvaria rolled her eyes at all of Laramie's jumping around and at his teasing. "And green is mine." She twirled again. "But I have regretted to ask what these clothes are for. I never learned because, you know, I WAS KNOCKED OUT." She suddenly remember her original intention of finding Laramie. "For what reason did you think it was okay to slip me a sleep potion?"

"I didn't slip you anything. You took it and drank it willingly. Besides, you'd just had a traumatic experience, and were tired as it was. The potion was to make you rest and feel refreshed afterword, which it seems you do," Laramie shot back, that wicked grin still on his face, "And as for what you missed, I can tell you that easily." He filled her in on the speech Cynicus had gave, and looked at her expectantly.

"Okay. So that finally explains who they are." Savi thought out loud. "But, what are these 'festivities'?" She turned to Laramie. "And where does Cynicus expect us to meet him?"

"I do not know where to meet Cyncicus, actually. Perhaps this fine Healer may lead us to him...?" he asked the elf courteously.

"Oh, yes, Sir Sunriver. Right this way." She lead them to the largest tent. She peeked in, and then said "Cynicus is waiting for you."