Talisman of Lunina

Chp 3: The Enchantress in Red

Elderben wasn't exactly the kind of town I expected it to be. In fact, I'd scarcely call it a town at all. The majority of the populace lived in a series of tents scattered about an area without any rhyme or reason. The canvas buildings varied in size and shape drastically from a small one man teepee to a massive circus big top. From these structures shop criers could be heard advertising the various wares they had to sell and the fabulous deals that came with them. Even though they were rather obnoxious and pushy with their merchandise, some of the offers didn't sound half bad. Looking down at my own outfit that was currently burnt in several places, I decided this would be a good place to look for some new apparel.

After some time spent navigating the streets we finally located the town square, which featured the key structures of the town, including an inn, the mayor's office, the guardsmen's quarters, and a small infirmary. These were the only buildings of stone and wood and contrasted heavily in the sea of fabric, yet they were so buried that it was impossible to see them from outside of the city. At the center of the square stood a stone statue of an elderly gentleman sitting in a rocking chair with kind eyes and a look of content on his face. I was impressed by the craftsmanship of the piece, the level of detail and how lifelike the monument looked rivaled the art pieces I had seen in the king's palace.

"Interested in the statue young man?" an elderly gentlemen wearing spectacles and strolling towards my companion and myself slightly aided by a walking stick approached us. Before waiting for a response, the newcomer immediately began rattling out, "Well, if you're going to be that pushy then I'll tell you. This here is the statue of our founder and idol, William Elderben. He was a wily fellow that took advantage of the situation created by the king himself. After the king limited the amount of trade that could take place in the capital for fear of the influence outsiders may have on his people, ol' William decided to make a trading outpost only a day's walk from the castletown. Soon, all the trade that normally passed through Skyhold went straight to Elderben. The town has quickly become the economic heart of the nation. Unfortunately, within a few years of realizing his ambition, the town's founder mysteriously disappeared. So this statue was erected in his memory."

"Uh, that was interesting, I suppose," I lied. The elder's face beamed from the false praise.

"Well, if you liked that one, maybe you'd care for another. As mayor of this town, I have a million stories about this town's history," the mayor said, clearly ready to break out into another.

"A million of them, eh?" I laughed halfheartedly, desperately looking for a way out of the situation. Fortunately, Ross saved me.

"Pyrrhus, as much as I'm loving this wonderful chat, shouldn't we be looking for your acquaintances?" he asked, surveying our surroundings to look for possible traces of my compatriots.

"Yes, that is exactly what we should be doing. Excuse us Mr. Mayor, we really must be going. We are expected elsewhere soon," I informed him, slowly backing away from the older man. He had turned his back to Ross and me however to look at the statue and began spouting out more stories of the town's history, paying no mind to my previous statement. There was already a decently sized distance between us, so I decided to merely turn around and walk away before the mayor could realize I was leaving. Ross followed along close behind, not wanting to get left behind; stranded in a trap of tales.

"Alright, so do you have any idea which tent we're looking for?" Ross began prodding me with what should have been a simple question.

"Come to think of it I really don't know which of these is theirs," I spoke slowly to buy as much time as I could to furnish my response. One mistake in my speech could break the whole web I had spun. "We should just split up and check each tent until we find them," I suggested.