The two had been walking besides one another for nearly two hours now, Steal having devoured the kebab almost the very second the insectoid vendor passed the stick of meat over to him.

The voracity and speed at which the tiny creature tore through flesh was somewhat worrying, though what was more worying was that the goblin had eaten half of the wooden skewer with it, before realising such a thing was inedible; which led to it's current condition, sat on Kor'Ak's shoulder, huddled into a ball groaning to itself in mild pain and discomfort.

The past two hours had been nothing but an over-extended shopping trip, Kor'Ak had made a point of purchasing a fair amount of dried, smoked and salted meats, along with a small supply of ambrosia; an odd, honey-like food that was once coveted by elven peoples. Although ambrosia is now seen across Kyros, it's method of production and the (assumed) creature it comes from is still a mystery to those that don't produce it; with a number of rumours of where it comes from, from giant bees to it being aged troll snot.

Other than food, Kor'Ak made sure to get a enough water for the few days they would be travelling. Although the roads that their employer should take ran over a number of rivers and went through plenty of small towns and villages, the Djaalic man was still accustomed to the overbearing heat of the Djaal sun as it bounced off the sand; and long military marches, with oxen dragging a massive wooden barrel of water along the dunes for every few dozen soldiers.

Captain, what are we supposed to do!

That memory. That voice.

Another few hours of walking, shopping and haggling as the night began to become darker.

Kor'Ak had managed to find a small bag for the goblin, he was to learn how to pack his own supplies, and needed to get used to carrying everything he owned with him if he was to become a suitable adventuring companion and partner. Along with the bag, Kor'Ak managed to buy some relatively cheap robes that should fit a skinny gnome, and would (he hoped) be a fine fit for a goblin, along with a a pair of wrought iron bracers and a dirk.

The dirk was a thrusting dagger, sometimes called a long-knife that was just under a foot in tortal length, although it wouldn't grant his companion a lot of reach, however, the blade should be relatively easy to handle and lightweight for the creature, with longer weapons likely being nearly impossible for the goblin to carry or wield normally.

Besides, Steal had picked it out himself.

Well, sort of, the goblin had pointed to the shiniest, most decorated knife it could see in the blacksmith's storefront, and Kor'Ak had cheaped out, which may be an additional reason for the greenskinned monsters current constant grumbling. He may not truly understand the concept of currency, but one thing he does understand is how much he likes things that glint and shine.

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The not-so-dynamic duo made their way back to Fo'Shizzle's tavern, the gnome didn't seem to care all that much after Kor'Ak handed him twenty-three silver krowns, more than enough to pay for their night's stay, even though they'd likely not be staying the night if thheir meeting with the ever-mysterious Kelvin went well.

Kor'Ak took Steal to his room, insisting he get changed as he handed him the clothing and the dirk. Whilst the goblin was trying, and failing to strap the metal braces to it's head, Kor'Ak was neatly packing everything he needed into an over-sized backpack. By the time he was done, Steal had managed to change into the other set of robes that Kor'Ak had given him, and had managed to put a belt around it's waist. Kor'Ak began packing Steal's bag as well, it was exceedingly smaller than him, about the size of the goblin's head, but it had plenty of the necessitiies, a few meals worth of salted meats, along with a canteen of water, bandages and a bottle of alcohol. If it weren't for some height restrictions, he would have given the goblin a ten-foot pole. A classic of adventurers since the earliest days of dungeon traps and pitfalls.

With some help, Steal maaged to fix the sheathed dirk to his belt, and Kor'Ak helped the little monster strap his iron bracers on, the dull grey glint wasn't all that appealing to the goblin, but it was better than the completely unshiny cloth beneath it.

Kor'Ak took a good half an hour putting on his full-plate of armour, towering shield on his back and a sword at his side. For the sake of being polite, the visored sallet helm was left in his bag.

Ready to go, the two made their way off into the night again, Kor'Ak offering a last fairwell to Fo'Shizzle.

It was dark in the streets by the time the pair had marched over to the adventurer's guild, no lights besides those that still wavered dimly in windows. The earlier, excited stampedes of people had stopped, and all but the bravest stalls had closed up.

The night was cold, only the whisper of icy wind could be heard over the sound of Kor'Ak's armour clinking together, chainmail rings scraping togeher again the metal plate on top, and thick cloth padding beneath.

The adventurer's guild door creaked open as Kor'Ak led forward, Steal hanging close behind.

A few swaying braziers lit the hall, a singular clerk sitting at the back, idly flicking through a dusty-looking book.

And Kor'Ak would have been perfectly content with a dull, boring and empty hall.

What he could not be content with was the singular man sitting at one of the tables, staring directly at them.

This man was an abomination; Kor'Ak would have preferred a blue-robed, pointy hatted old wizard with a flowing grey beard over this bullshit.

An excessively large tophat, jet black with a white ribbon just above it's brim was sat atop a head of clean, blonde hair that went just below the man's cheeks. Bright blue eyes looked at him, and just bellow those, just below this man's nose was a moustache, so waxed and well kept that it looked hardened to a point, curving up for a few inches at the sides, giving this blonde piece of facial hair the impression of a bull's horns.

Kor'Ak sighed, this was too much, what a ridiculous looking man.

But wait, there's more!

He wasn't sure if it got better below his neck. A black bowtie sat ontop of a white dress shirt, with sleeves a little too young for the gentleman. A dark waistcoat gave the man the impression of a rather ill-mannered butler, after all, his boots were resting on the table. Showing off his flared out, somehow sparkling black pants. His leather shoes were as black as the rest of his clothing, with a slight heel to them, and golden spurs sticking out from the back.

A deep sigh seemed to drag out of the djaalic warrior as he walked forwards "Kelvin Sescenti I presume?"

A voice so bright and cheery that it caused Kor'Ak physical pain responded "Indeedly doodly, I sure am"