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Amaury looked at Iskra and then Maren as they spoke, respectively. He gave the bandit a wry smirk when she corrected herself and, once the unicorn-turned-woman asked her question, added: "Its gullible of me, but I kind of want to go see if that's the case anyway." The mason took a few steps in the direction of the mountains before turning around to face them again. He, too was curious as to how long the trip would take, regardless of its conclusion.

Iskra glanced upwards at the sky, to see where the run was, they had maybe a few hours of daylight left, "If we're lucky, we'll make it near the village around nightfall. The lanterns on the road should be lit, so we'll be able to safely make the rest of the trip, if I remember correctly."

Iskra didnt plan on mentioning she wasn't very well liked there. At all. Arriving at nigt would be good for her; she would have time to steal (or maybe actually buy) a cloak, so she could at least be near her...allies, without endangering them. Or perhaps she would just return home, though she would still need a cloak.

Maren nodded and followed Amaury until he stopped; she began to turn to look back to Iskra as well until she caught sight of some small flowers at the side of the road. She trotted over to them and crouched before brushing her hand over the soft petals. They seemed to be a little vibrant after the touch. Maren herself didn’t seem to notice, too busy thinking about gifts and fruits. “Then we best be on our way, yes?” She smiled to Iskra, no longer looking queasy.

(Heh... don't mind my filler writing xvx)

Amaury noticed the bandit king's glance to the sky and imitated her, looking for the same information himself. He seemed to get a similar idea as he paced down the road a bit more and turned back toward them again, his excitement not yet abated. "Yes!" It was obvious by his posture that as soon as the other two started to walk he'd continue going as well; he was anxious to do so.

That energy probably wouldn't last the entire trip, however.

The trip seemed rather straight forward, and besides for throwing out the equivalent of 'fun facts' about the village and the surrounding area, Iskra remained very oddly quiet. The town at the base of the mountains was her old home; they knew her face very well, being that she was in the area frequently. Which would explain why, when people came from that direction, the woman would slide behind Maren, and at one point dove into the thorny bushes at the edge of the road.

She came out of the bush grumbling about the thorns, picking them out of her skin, when she looked up at the light post and saw a sign; 'Conroe' it read, with a small arrow pointing forward. She looked up the the darkening sky, "It is best we part ways here, for now...They know my face here, you two should go in without me. I'll find you shortly."

Iskra reached into her belt, plucking a small pouch from of her larger pouches; it jingled when she dropped it in Amaury's hand, "Get a room at the inn for us. Use the rest for food for you two; I will come find you once I have secured the items I need to be safe." Inside, was gold. A lot of gold. Which was no surprise, being a bandit king and all, "If you have anything left afterwards...well...do whatever with it, as long as you don't get yourself in trouble doing it." There was that warning glance from her again, and she looked to Maren now, "Please make sure he doesn't do anything....reckless." The way she spoke though, using 'us' instead of 'you'; she planned on sticking around it seemed.

Maren listened to Iskra’s facts and statements about the town, and when she occasionally hid behind her she straightened her back and walked calmly to aid her; thinking she understood what the bandit king was feeling when she did so… until she leapt into a thorny bush. Maren winced and looked concerned. Perhaps she didn’t understand the full extent of how the other woman felt…

At the mention of parting Maren nodded, a concerned frown crossed her face for a moment. “Very well, I hope you find what you need with little trouble.” When Iskra addressed her now the young lady couldn’t help but relax a little and smile. “Don’t worry, I will make sure he behaves himself.” And glanced to the man in question, looking entertained at the thought of having to monitor a grown human.

Though at first Amaury was happy and alert the hours were not kind. By the time Iskra flung herself into the thorn bush the mason had only the energy to wince in empathy and curse. He took a few steps in her direction when the threat upon her anonymity passed but wasn't really there to do much except potentially help if she slipped on her way out-- which she didn't, so he slunk back nearby.

Then she looked up; he followed her gaze and saw the sign, a slow, content smile spreading across his face. They did it; they reached safety. He looked back just in time to see the bandit king approach and put the coins in his hand, which he jerked to catch awkwardly. Amaury chuckled at the comment about Maren watching his behavior and shrugged. "Don't worry. After all that talk about fruit all I want is some, too." The mason straightened his back as the unicorn replied, holding the coinpurse close to his chest. It was only then that he actually realized the degree of wealth inside-- his eyes slid down to it as this became more apparent. He wondered just how Sokol got a hold of that coin a moment but then decided it was best not to find out, for good or ill.

"By the time you show up I'll probably be asleep, heh. Good luck."

The bandit king nodded, and without another moment of hesitation she went slinking away into the growing shadows of the woods that surrounded the area. She seemed to know enough not to fear them.

The town was not much further ahead; by now lanterns were being lit and they glowed faintly in the distance, along with the low echo of voices and laughter. The village of Conroe was surrounded by trees; though these ones were less sinister than those of the forest they had been trapped in, it was still a much more appealing idea to enter the village than linger on the outskirts.

Once Iskra left, Maren continued down the path with Amaury. Both looking worn and tired by this point. The lantern’s light soon led the duo to a cozy looking inn. The wooden sign that hung over the door read “Blue Downy Inn” and was engraved with the silhouette of a chubby cheeked duck. Atoli hovered by the door for a moment before pushing her way in. The interior was dimly lit and smelled of warm soup.

A gruff looking man sat at the counter, his eyes undecipherable from beneath his shaggy eyebrows and his mouth was hidden underneath an equally bushy mustache. Maren stayed behind Amaury now since he had the coin needed and likely had more experience in purchasing a night’s stay.

(( I made up the name of the inn randomly, feel free to change it if you want xD ))

Amaury was no stranger to the no-nonsense attitudes of innkeepers and so only smiled briefly at the man at the counter while he approached. "Hail." It was getting a bit late, causing the mason to worry that there may not be rooms left- but in the worst case scenario they might be able to stay at the town's abbey. He kept his newfound bag of coin out of sight, hoping that his wealth wouldn't encourage the workers there to raise prices. "Still have any rooms for the night?"

The mason closed in on the counter, not bothering to sit down yet but taking a comfortable attitude in the presence of the gruff man. He trusted in Maren's ability to do similarly; after all, she was quite friendly.

Maren followed behind Amaury and mimicked his posture as best she could, and smiled politely at the man. The Inn keeper nodded and said simply in his deep monotone voice, “Yer’ in luck. Got one room left. 5 silver both fer’ you and yer’ lady.” The man crossed his hairy arms and waited for the payment to be placed on the table.

Meanwhile Maren watched the exchange curiously before she yawned, unable to suppress her weariness. They had spent a good part of the day walking and her feet were sore from the journey.

Amaury paused for an instant, realizing that he wouldn't really need to pay with Iskra's coin for that. He surreptitiously switched the sack out with his own coin purse (which was relatively plump from a completed commission still) and produced the silver the man asked for-- with a couple extra. "If you're still serving food, my companion and I are famished. Do you have any fruit?" It would be marked up if the man served it at all but at least it would please both of them; the mason highly doubted she desired meat or soup.

That, and perhaps he could take a few extra and leave them in their room for Iskra to find later?

After the appropriate amount of payment was given the man then pulled out a simple iron key, it looked small in his hand but clunked onto the wooden counter with a weighty sound. “Room’s upstairs last on the left.” He said gruffly, and walked into a back room, supposedly the kitchen, and came back with two green apples. “S’all we got fer’ fruit. We got pottage on too if yer’ hungry.” He placed them on the counter by the key before sitting back down, causing his chair to squeak with the weight.

Maren peeked from behind Amaury to look at the apples, they lacked the shiny quality she was used to but replied politely, “Thank you, kind sir.” and waited for Amaury at the base of the stairway.

Amaury kept his smile while eying the apples out of politeness; he figured that they might be mealy but took them anyway. After all, he wasn't expecting the best quality in this corner of the world. "I'll take one. Pottage sounds good right now, too." The mason took the key gingerly from the table and glanced over to Maren, asking, "Don't mind if we take it up, do you?" He considered moving to hand the unicorn-in-disguise the key but realized that, much like other mythical creatures it was possible she had an aversion to the metal.

The man gave a grunt said no more before walking back to the kitchen before trudging back. It seemed the extra coin was enough for the apples and a single bowl of the warm soup with a heel end of a loaf of bread on the side. He waved a hand at them in allowance for them to bring their food to their room.

Maren meanwhile was busy carefully climbing the stairs; when she reached the top, she paced to the end of the hall to stand by their designated room, she didn’t reach out for the iron door nob nor ask for the key; instead just resigning to wait, looking ready to rest. "What a long day it has been, hmm?" And smiled faintly.

"Thank you," Amaury said while carefully taking the food items in his hands (well, the bowl would rest on the crux of his arm to avoid scorching his fingers but its close enough.) He followed his companion up the stairs and to the end of the hall, glancing at her as he fumbled a bit to balance the apples close to the bowl and unlock the door with his free hand. "Yeah. I am going to sleep like a baby after this."

With the key inserted and the turn of his wrist, the mason opened the door into their room; unsure of what he'd see but not feeling picky.

The room was a simple one: two twin beds pushed together, a small table with two chairs, and a chest pushed in the corner. Marenithiel kicked her sandals off by the chest and belly flopped onto one of the beds, sprawled face first and rather unladylike. She turned her face to the side and murmured to Amaury, “…Do you think Iskra is okay? She spoke of this town as if it were her home, but took such measures to stay hidden...” She blinked slowly, her eyelids already heavy.

Maren turned her head once more to take a brief look at the fox pelt that was mounted above the two beds. “...I wonder how she feels about being the Bandit King of this region…did she choose such a life?” Maren asked, and shifted more comfortably onto the bed; not bothering with the covers or her clothes. Her eyes closed after a few moments, and the unicorn girl whispered, “It’s lonely…” and fell asleep mid-sentence. Her head only a quarter way onto the pillow and with her short hair making a wavy curtain over half of her face.

Amaury rested the items he held onto the table soon after walking in; he turned back to close and lock the door, twisting the handle a bit to ensure it was closed. As he started to reply to Maren's first question the mason sat down in one of the chairs near the table. He muttered, "They know who she is, most likely. Humans aren't forgiving creatures." The man helped himself to the pottage, dipping the sliced end of the bread into it and blowing on it to cool it down.

The craftsman made a small, muffled chuckle when the second inquiry was made. He took a bite of the bread, chewed and the swallowed to answer; "Its a choice. But its a choice that only the desperate, hungry or cold make. I don't know what of those things motivated her." He slightly heard the unicorn whisper as she fell asleep but didn't comment. There was a bowl of food to eat!

It was hard not to take his time, as the night was descending fast and he still didn't get any sleep. When Amaury was all but finished he stared at the bed rather than getting in it. Sure he was tired but they were expecting three; perhaps he could improvise and let Iskra have the other bed? He looked at the table with consideration, planning on pulling out his bedroll... but just as he was certain he would go do that the man's head bowed and rested on the table. He fell asleep there, with his hat's brim strained between his head and the half-empty bowl.

Sure enough, in the morning there was a bundle of fruit and bread and dried meats on the table, and another pair of boots beside Maren's sandals. Iskra had gladly taken up the other bed, but had thrown the blanket over Amaury, opting instead to curl up in her new cloak. Judging on the thick and obviously expensive materials, she had probably stolen it from a guard or maybe from someone travelling the roads nearby, but there was always the possibility she had actual gone out and done something not criminal for once.

She was still sleeping when the sun rose, and though her companions wouldn't know, that was uncommon for her. Usually Iskra was always up before dawn, out jogging or practicing with her bow, or just sitting in the snow near the tops of the mountains and thinking. It was honestly a miracle the woman slept with these near strangers in the room; though, there was something about nearly dying not once but twice that brought people together.

Amaury twitched and murmured in his sleep, his dream-scape swirling with abstract images resembling fish and blooming with cool, soothing color. Transitioning between there and the waking world was disorienting and usually gradual; this time it was abrupt as one such movement strained the muscles of his back, sending an ache up his spine to rouse him. The mason snorted and groaned, seemingly not noticing that as he rose from sleep his hat flopped onto the table upside-down. He grimaced, whined and pulled the blanket around him. A sore back and neck was not something he wished to wake to.

He was not coherent enough to think about the consequences of his actions and so fell willingly out of the chair, crawling along the floor and wrapping himself up in the blanket once more. He folded his arms beneath him and stretched his body out against the ground, dozing there but not quite falling back asleep.