Monketh sat pondering on the dermorian\'s proposition.
Nuc stood still, but carefully eyed her.
The cheerily dressed man with the dark and foreboding face leaned quietly against a tree, seemingly unaffected.
Monketh\'s train of thought was interrupted by a rustle in the bushes nearby. He lay his hand on his sword handle, preparing for the worst.
Realising he was detected, a small and rather dirty enkidukai crept out of the bush. He seemed to have some berry residue around his mouth, Brush-berry, posssibly. He also looked a little roughed-up.
\" \'ello there. You can put that sword away, I\'m not out to get you.\"
Monketh heaved a sigh of relief and put his sword away.
\"Good afternoon, traveller. Might I ask who you are?\"
The enkidukai hesitated.
\"I am... Xyphon. I\'m, uh, going to Hydlaa to meet somebody.\"
\"That person may be dead by now, are you sure you want to go there?\"
\"Yes, I must see my, err... Long Lost Uncle.\"
The Kran spoke.
\"Why don\'t you come with us? The more people we have, the safer we are.\"
Xyphon thought about this, suppose the old man or someone else sent more assassins? He didn\'t want to get them into trouble.
\"Is she travelling with you?\"
\"Um, well...\"
Monketh pulled Nuc aside to have a word with him.
On the other side of the road, the human-like dermorian and the kran conversed. Rouge wondered what this might mean for her.
\"I don\'t think it would be wise to have an assassin so close.\"
\"Well, although she would be closer to us, we would be able to watch her.\"
\"This is true, although I ought not be worried, she\'s not after me, anyway.\"
\"Alright, so she\'s in?\"
\"I suppose.\"
The Ranger returned to Xyphon.
\"Yes, she is.\"
\"Ok, now who are you?\"
\"Well, I am Monketh Saiviono, Master of the Guild of Rangers. Unfortunately, many of them have been slain. The Kran yonder is Nuc. He wants to stop an appocolyptic chain of events. The man I cannot tell you about. Perhaps at some later time he will tell you. The lady is a repentant assassin. I do not know her name.\"
\"It\'s Rouge.\" She interjected.
\"...and don\'t hold my past against me.\"
The ranger continued.
\"We are going through this town looking for a smithy. He-\"
Monketh pointed to a sack the Kran was holding.
\"-has a bag of metals we\'ll use to make more weapons. For when we go to Hydlaa.\"
Perfect. Xyphon could go with them and arrive safely, and better equipped, at hydlaa.