The road is still muddy from yesterday's rain. Their feet stick in places, and Tyrion at one point has to be hoisted up to keep from sinking too deep. The mud gives way to dry road after an hour baking in the sun, and Anna wipes her face with a groan as she wobbles forward a step at a time. "Ugh. Evil sun..."

Amadeo holds out a cloth from his pack. "You should really take better care of yourself. I didn't realize it affected you this badly."

"We dark elves don't do well in the sun. It makes us uncomfortable, makes our skin itch and sweat real easy. Burns our eyes too. Comes from centuries living in the dark." Anna takes the cloth, unfolding it and tying it around her head to act as a bonnet. After a few moments, she sighs. "Thank you. This is much better!"

"You're not designed for this sort of weather. But you've got good eyesight in the dark. I'm mostly fine right now." Hope stretches before slipping her hands in her pockets. "But it is hot today. Gotta love Summer."

"I've been working on the farm since I could walk. This is nothing compared to toiling away in the fields for hours upon hours to harvest enough good wheat to make just one decent loaf of bread." Amadeo sips some water from his canteen.

"So you're a good wizard, but a terrible farmer." Tyrion jests, and Amadeo snorts water from his nose, coughing a bit and clearing his throat.

"I'll-" The wizard beats his chest before his breathing normalizes. "I'll have you know I'm quite a good farmer. Where we live just has terrible soil. It's part of why I learned wizardry. I wanted to use the skills I'd learn to make enough coin to get my folks out of that place. Unfortunately, things got in the way."

"What kinda things? Bad things? Spooky things?" Anna's eyes gleam with delight at the possible acquisition of knowledge about her companions. Then a mischievous glint forms in her eyes. "Did you flirt with another farmer's daughter?"

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Amadeo brushes a hand over the white streak in his hair and rolls his eyes. "There was an incident. And no, it didn't involve a farmer's daughter. Let's just say it's the reason for this." He holds a finger to the scar under his eye. "I'd rather not elaborate further than that."

Anna nods in understanding. "Alright, then. Keep your secrets." She looks out over the fields to their north then the Vesper Woods to the south. "Yesterday sure was something, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Hope tilts her head. Amadeo eyes the forest as well.

"I've spent my whole life being told tales of the 'horrible surface dwellers'. Barbarians intent on taking Subterra for all our vast riches, or to enslave us or, uhh, other things...But then I met this guy, and he seemed ok, you know? Let me sleep in the stables of his tavern. I mean, he gave me weird looks the whole time like he thought I might eat him. And then I met you guys, and you didn't bat an eye, not a one of you. Why is that?"

Tyrion scratches his sideburns. "Eh, I'm not terribly bothered by what someone looks like. I've met people with the face of a troll but the heart of an angel. I've also met people with the face of an angel and the heart of a troll. Plus, I'm the kind of man who can get along with anyone, or so my mother used to tell me."

"I've been judged since childhood for these." Hope gestures to the horns and the swishing tail. "Even the sisters at the orphanage where I grew up looked at me like dirt to wipe off their shoes. That disdain, that hatred, it filled me with blinding rage. Were it not for the kindness of a few kids I lived with, I might have given in and become the monster they thought I was. So I know what it's like to be looked upon as if you don't deserve to live simply for being born. I don't think I could ever do that to someone else."

"I told you I grew up working on a farm. We had nearly a dozen hands with us at one point, all from different races. Orcs, devilkin, elves of various kinds. Even had a lizardman and a drakeblood who swore they were sisters. I feel more comfortable sometimes amongst other races than my own. And besides, you didn't treat us any different either. What right would we have to be terrible to someone who wasn't terrible first?" Amadeo shrugs. "You don't have to be human to be humane. You don't have to be a monster to be monstrous."

"I see. We really are an odd bunch." Anna smiles, folding her hands behind her back and looking up at the sky with wincing eyes. "Still hate the sun, though."