Welcome to Gaia! ::

Eudom hated waiting around for others, especially when he had a whole list of things to take care of. However, the Yaeli farmer had gotten a special shopping list for his trip to the city this time while taking care of his new guest and made the mistake of speaking with another Shifter since he had picked up on the language over the past couple of months. He wasn’t a professional linguist, but he did at least manage to piece together some words that seemed similar to those that he had learned in common and even in Yaeli so the process was a bit easier even though he still had the skill level of a child learning to talk. Now Tryx, a wandering minstrel from Jahaur, had picked up another stranger that would pay him coin for an escort through town and towards Zinris. Thankfully the man didn’t need help going all the way to Zinris and only had to find a smaller village that Eudom knew about which was in between Ilidan and that place infested by Aishans. While there was apparently some form of treaty between the Aishans, hence why he saw a few Alkidikes and even hybrids of their kind on occasion now whenever he was in the city, the lingering wariness and desire to avoid those creatures made perfect sense to Eudom who knew the pain that they had inflicted upon Yael when they first came over. It was hard enough for the truly superstitious to even accept foreign earthlings as it was….Eudom simply shook his head at the thought before the opening door caught his attention and a giant walked into the small tavern.

[Eudom 1]

Ah, so the giant was looking at him. Eudom sent out a curse against Tryx before hoping that the spirits would keep him safe enough from the stranger should he mean harm. Though even Eudom, as superstitious as he was, reasoned that anyone coming all the way from the mainland would not simply be looking for Yaeli to beat up. Right? He could only pray that was the case at least. What would be the point in a guide if you killed them from the initial meeting? Eudom shook his head before gesturing for the hybrid to join him at his table. Thankfully he had already had sense to order some food, some bread baked with spiced herbs and cheese, and the Yaeli waitress rushed past their table to quickly drop down a pitcher of water and another of ale for the pair. While others seemed wary of Verosh, the girl on the other hand seemed entranced by someone who stood a good foot and a half taller than most in the tavern. “What a strange, but handsome man.” She mused in their native tongue to the barkeep before getting shoo’d away to serve another table.

Eudom chose to ignore such comments and instead found himself tilting his head up so that he could study the foreigner. Lightly tanned skin with markings, pink gemstones and crystal blue eyes. If not for the Aishan traits then he would assume the earthling was from Sauti since he had dealt with traders from that country before. Unless there were other countries with similar blue eyes and blond hair…who knew? There was still a lot for Eudom to learn about the mainland though he doubted he would ever cross the ocean to visit such a place. He had too much work to do in Yael, especially on his farm. The very thought made him scowl before he finally spoke. “The foreigner lookin’ for a guide, right?”

[Eudom 2]

“Eudom.” The Yaeli replied in a clipped tone. Just because he was going to be paid as a guide it did not mean he was required to be super friendly or overly talkative. The Yaeli watched as the hybrid took a piece of the bread before taking some for himself, shoving it into his mouth without hesitation. It was not as fresh as it could have been in the morning but there had been some attempt to warm the bread back up which gave it a crunch along the edges before the rest melted into his mouth. The mixture of cheese and herbs were familiar to Eudom since his own grandmother had preferred making this type of bread, especially during the winter where the lingering scents of garlic and rosemary kept any darker spirits away as the bread baked. “You?”

[Eudom 3]

“Verosh then.” Eudom was not one to make things more complicated unless absolutely necessary so he opted for the easier name. It definitely was a foreign sounding name, not unpleasant but strange to his ears whenever he heard the man’s introduction. “My home is along the way, but the village you want to visit is a day or two at the most away from that point. I’ll go with you as long as you’re willing to pay for my time.” He began before reaching for another bite of bread. He had paid for the meal and skipped lunch earlier so there was no hesitation as Eudom even waved the server over for stew. If Tryx wasn’t lying to him then this man would surely pay him enough to cover this meal and his own time. If she was lying then Eudom at least would make certain to get a good meal before saying his goodbyes and not even worry about guiding this foreigner.

[Eudom 4]

“Hmm.” Eudom slurped down some noodles and watched as Verosh pulled out the requested coin. “That sounds good to me.” He agreed, wiping a sleeve across his mouth before pulling open the pouch and separating out the currency in half. He was surprised but relieved to see that the hybrid had already come prepared with the coins often used to barter in Yael, the images of Dafiel and Lurin engraved into the silver making their value worthwhile for shopping in Pajore. “That’ll cover this meal as well since I’m feeling generous and part of the trip is along my usual route as is. The room is on your own though cause I’m not sharin’ a bed.” Eudom slid the rest of the coin back towards Verosh before tucking his portion into his own satchel for safe keeping.

[Eudom 5]

“Is the ale different back overseas?” Eudom found himself asking to fill the silence once he devoured most of his stew, the man opting to drink since he had the feeling it would be a long night at this rate. He could simply go back to his room once Verosh got his own room settled, but it was better to try and get some sense of the hybrid that he would be traveling with over the next several days. “Miriel, this man will like a room by the way.” Eudom explained to the server while he watched Verosh reach for the mug of ale as if to study it.

[Eudom 6]

Eudom grinned at the reaction. “That sounds right. The brew here is specially made and definitely has the power to fight off the night’s chill.” He explained before taking a drink of his own tankard, the Yaeli clearly able to hold his alcohol better than most since he didn’t even seem flustered on his third drink. “I guess ale is a universal language in a way.” Eudom nodded as he settled back in his chair and stared down the Aishan hybrid. “Things are different back in…Jahaur was it? Constantly warm with plenty of rain from what I gathered when speaking with Tryx.”

[Eudom 7]

“Ah, so you are from Sauti and Jahaur. The life of…mixed heritage.” Managed Eudom as he tried to be less rude with his wording. In Yael there was no such thing as hybrids until recently when the world opened up more with the invasion of the Extremists and their kind. Once the mainland had found out that there were actual people living here they had started coming over to trade while fellow Yael dared to venture overseas and return with children of their own with the foreigners over the years. Not many ventured that way, however, thanks to the superstitions but now he wondered how many hybrids would exist in this place within the next decade as tensions settled and more Yaeli became comfortable with the foreigners. “The path will be rocky, I’ve traveled it many times so you don’t have to worry about getting lost and I can handle any injuries on the go since I take care of myself at the farm. I hunt, farm and take care of things myself in a farm that’s along the way. There’s a forest that we’ll be cutting through but I know how to handle the spirits and navigate the changing trees.”

[Eudom 8]