[Ishkaral's Home/Training Facility] Contusions (Ishkaral)

[Laute]

58th day of Fall, 511 AV

The streets were quiet in the early evening, small groups moving en mass. In the late fall, it was already getting dark outside, the sun setting earlier and earlier. By now, the city was a land of shadow and most stayed indoors where a warm fire and a hot meal kept company.

Neither of which interested him in the least. Stranded, he had to look for his own entertainment. But first, he needed to know his location.

Laute glanced down the streets, searching for a landmark to help him find where he was. Maps were useless here and the only reliable way to find a place were to look for the hawkers who made it their business.

And now, as the evening set in, even they would be useless. Already, sections of the city were preparing to shift. Buildings faded before his eyes, wavering between opaque and translucent. Even the roads were changing, the stones turning into mud turning into a field of grass.

Aditi half-jogged in an effort to keep close. His form dwarfed hers, his strides impressively long, and with her short pace, it wasn't enough to just keep up. In the evening, where a fence could appear where once a path existed, she had to remain nearby or risk getting lost. She breathed in heavily when he finally stopped, taking the moment to cool down.

The cool evening air was stale. There was no wind tonight, just the early evening stars and the pale moon. By now most taverns would be crowded, all inns full. Sleeping in the maze again didn't interest him today, nor did spending the night in the Bizarre.

Craving something new, he spied a row of small houses nearby. Quaint, they could comfortably hold a single person, uncomfortably a small family. Inside, the lights were lit, their glow soft on the paved ground.

A small smile emerged at the opportunity. Walking up to the first one, he tried to open the door before Aditi could stay his hand. Locked, he rapped the wood once and stood outside patiently.

If he couldn't find any, then he'd make his own entertainment.