"Can't give you that. You know I can't." The man groaned as Drenovi shrugged, his shoulders dropping as his arms fell back down to his side. A coy, but pleading look grew on his sharp features and his eyes glanced over the merchant as Drenovi spoke.

"There must be something. You understand where I'm coming from, you understand what has happened, yes?" The man nodded, though it was obvious he didn't want to agree with Drenovi's words. "Then there must be some way you can help. I know you can. I know you're a good man." His pleading held some effect over the man, Drenovi watching as the Merchant's expression scrunched up into an uncomfortable look, before he finally relented.

"Here. All I can do." He reached into his pocket and passed Drenovi a small pouch, and from its smell he could tell it was dried meat. It wouldn't even last someone a day on the road, but Drenovi appreciated it nonetheless.

"Thank you. Blessings be unto thee." Drenovi pocketed the bag with a flourish, the bag slipping into the pocket of his bright green robes.

"Yea, yea… Just, I can't keep giving you supplies. One day I'm gonna charge you."

"And I will pay you in full, and then some. Thank you." With one last flourish, Drenovi left the merchant at his stall, leaving the man shaking his head solemnly. Despite how packed the markets of Starchurch was, Drenovi easily found himself passing through the crowd, shifting through the humans and the half-men as they all gathered towards something in the center of town. "Probably some performer out in the Town center." Drenovi thought, giving himself a little chuckle as he went. Drenovi wasn't a simple man, far but. He was a priest, with gentle, light brown hair flowing down to his shoulders, with no bangs going down over his forehead to hide his amber colored eyes, his gaze as warm as the blessed flames themselves. His face was gaunt and just as light, his body hidden in his priestly robes. He was almost about to start making his way back to his quiet little hovel, wondering just what had gotten everyone's attention, when someone walked into him. He was sure of it, someone walked into him, and already an accusatory look came across his face as he whipped around to see the woman who walked into him and watched as she… disappeared. Like mist rising off of a lake in the morning, the woman disappeared into thin air before he could even get a good look…

Someone grabbed his wrist from behind, and just as quickly as before he spun back around, hand already poised to strike only to see a woman grabbing his wrist, what once was a friendly and amicable expression quickly soaring into fear.

"Wait wait- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" She shouted out, letting go of Drenovi's hand and pulling back. The crowd around them had now taken interest in the two instead, and with an awkward expression Drenovi lowered his hand, offering an apologetic bow to the woman as he looked her over. She was an outdoors woman, that much was obvious at just a glance. With a slanted skull and curving spine, fingers that seemed just a little too long to be human, Drenovi figured out just as quickly she was Elven. She wore commoner clothes, her raven black hair ragged and wild behind her coming down past her shoulders, green eyes still nervously flicking over Drenovi as he apologized. But it was her tanned, sunkissed skin that gave away her status, a mere worker. Anyone would recognize that, no matter how much she tried to hide it under layers of her commoner appearance. "It's alright, I apologize. I'm just, a little high strung, is all. I am Drenovi."

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"Well alright, but it's good to meet you in the flesh, Drenovi! Call me Angeline." She grinned as she introduced herself, forgiving Drenovi all too quickly. She grinned as she spoke, smiling like a child would at making a joke only she understood. She probably just did, and it went right over his head, just like she wanted.

"Well, Angeline. I trust there's a reason you want to speak with me?"

"Speak with you?" She looked confused, wondering just how he figured her out.

"You were trying to get my attention, right? Why?"

"Right! Okay uh, enough beating around the bush." She clapped her hands together with a sense of theatricality. "It's only fair, I outright say it. I'm the woman who sent you the letter."

Everything clicked right after that. Everything fit together as Drenovi put the pieces together. That letter, the one calling him to meet with an unnamed woman along with one other person who also went suspiciously unnamed, the vexing request that had troubled him for days after he got it, and enticed his curiosity even more, written by this energetic and eccentric elven woman. Drenovi and her seemed to strike it off pretty well, the two beginning to chat about themselves. Even though he tried to press her for more details, Angeline refused to give anything more as she wanted to wait for that other unnamed adventurer before beginning to discuss anything about that damned letter. So for now, Drenovi chatted about himself, telling Angeline about his life off the island before he came here. She seemed surprised that he wasn't a native, but it gave him the opportunity he needed to tell her about his time growing up in the church at Rigin. Drenovi was more than happy to recall those days growing up with peers, getting up to mischief even under the watch of the priests and the nuns as he learned and practiced his blessed flame. But when the conversation came back around to Angeline herself, it was Drenovi's turn to be surprised as she finally began to talk. She had been a native to the Island herself, a citizen of this lovely town of Aleksander. Angeline was even old enough to be a child back when Aleksander himself had fallen in a glorious battle to defend the town. While she suspiciously avoided her childhood, Angeline recounted living a life on the seas, fighting tooth and nail with pirates, seabeast, sea-elves, sirens, all manner of ocean life, and even with her fellow sailors. But after a few decades living on the seas as a proud sailor, she came around to living back in Aleksander, working as a shipwright herself. He doubted her story. He doubted a lot of things about her.

Then the topic finally got to something Drenovi wanted. The letter. Just a few days ago, Drenovi had received a letter at his hovel door asking for his help directly from a "Woman in need" along with mentioning he'd be working alongside an equally mysterious partner. But he knew that "woman in need" was standing right in front of him! So when he finally brought up his mysterious partner…

"Oh! Right right, you're gonna like her. I had to do some searching around before I found that there was a serpent out in Yvelthem that wanted to-"

"I'm sorry, a Serpentine?" Drenovi asked, sounding bewildered and bemused. "What's a snake doing trying to go on adventures? Tch, thought they only hid down South and never came up here to the "stupid northerners" like us."

Angeline cringed, before eventually nodding. "Well, you're not wrong. Usually they don't, but when they do, they're some of the best travelers to have. Used to sail with a Serpent, young fellow for his kind. Best mate I ever had. After finding out about you, I heard from him that there was a Serpent woman going around trying to go on adventures. Thought it'd be fair to invite her along!"

Drenovi did not think so. "You invited a Snake along for this "Adventure", without knowing who they were, and only because you heard about them from a friend?"

"Well, that's how I invited you too. Seemed only fair, right?"