Chapter 4 Enchantress (Part 3 and 4)

Now that the pain the Ghallen had experienced earlier brought the bear back to its normal functioning senses, Kith realized that this posed a very real and deadly problem for her. Kiths spell had worn off of the Ghallen and she was now without any guaranteed means of escape from this rather large forest dwelling predator, as it could still more than likely muster the strength now to run Kith down if need be, even with the recovering injury. A low growl could be heard coming from the front of the Ghallen as it turned its head so that only one eye was visible to Kith who was just now recovering from the hip check from the Ghallen. The Ghallen turned its hulking body around to face Kith and then rose up on its hind legs. Though the bear was still favoring the wounded leg, it was still able to breathe in deeply and let out a fearsome roar that shook Kith to her core. The bear came back down with a thud and slowly made its way towards Kith. She was not totally petrified with fear and though she was unsure of what was going to happen next, she was ready to draw her war fan at any point if she needed to. Hoping that a swift strike to the nose might stun it enough for her to make an escape, she drew her fan and held it to her side as it crackled with electricity. The Ghallen noticed the weapon and did something strange that Kith never would have expected this beast to do. It came within striking distance of Kith, making no threatening gestures as it moved close to her face and opened its mouth to reveal its elongated pink tongue, then licking her face from one side to the other in what Kith could only hope was a sign of great thanks to her. It then further impressed Kith by pressing its forehead on to hers, almost like it was bowing in a sense. Kith smiled after wiping off the saliva from her face and realizing that the bear was no longer a threat to her. "He he, thanks big guy. You try and stay away from those traps now ok? You might not be so fortunate to have me or anyone come around next time." The bear lifted its lip as it looked like it was smiling for a moment, then turned around and walked off towards the thick overgrowth, taking the time to swipe at the trap once before it moved into the thick woods until it couldn't be seen anymore.

The wind began to pick up a little bit as it whipped through the trees, kicking up powdered snow and debris while the sun had become darkened by the clouds that were now swirling all around the area. Kith looked up to the rather ominous clouds for a moment and she shivered a bit when a cold blast of air hit her dead on. "It's getting colder by the minute" she thought to herself. "Probably better get out of here too, don't wanna be out here after dark." She made her way back to the path from the small clearing and continued on the road again, quickly looking back at the place were the bear had been caught as it was drifting out of view. "Just be thankful that whoever put that trap there didn't stick around to wait and see if they caught anything. You might not be walking freely right now. Stay safe and healthy my friend." Kith picked up her pace now and continued through the forest on her path to the town of Aelkeep.

Kith continued on her path through the snow dusted forest for a few more hours until she finally found herself back on the road to her destination. Within minutes of getting back to the main roads she could see off in the distance the farmsteads that sat on the fringes of the town of Aelkeep were about a mile away. By now the sky was blanketed with thick gray clouds but it was only dimming the light around the forest town. She could see the billows of smoke that were coming from the farms and from the town and as she came closer, she could also hear many people performing their duties of daily life. Kith could now smell various kinds of meats being smoked along some of the farm houses that made her mouth water and stomach growl with reckless desire but she continued to walk down the beaten dirt road, only stopping for a moment in curiosity. She looked around the village and could see small white specks floating down all around her. She held out her hand and caught one of the specks, of which it quickly melted in her hand. "Snow? Already?" Kith looked up into the sky and sure enough, it was lightly snowing. "Strange? I know the wind is chilling to the bone but it doesn't feel cold enough to snow. I could be wrong though." Kith made her way through the rest of the outlying farms and ventured through the large stone archways that led into the busy streets of Aelkeep. Having never been to this city before, she was quickly overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of the town through the mid afternoon, but she soon found herself tired and in desperate need of sustenance. She soon passed by an older Gnomish man who was sitting on an cask full of what would only suspect as fermented wine and smoking a rather long pipe that smelled of a sweet and intoxicating aroma and thought to ask him were a nice place to rest for the night was since she had been traveling for a few days now. The Gnome saw Kith approach and he smiled "Ah, hello there miss, what can a simple Gnome like me do for you this rather chilly afternoon?" Kith greeted the man with a smile. "Sorry to disturb you sir, but I'm new to this town and I was wondering if you could tell me were I could find a vacant inn for the night?" The Gnome smiled, tipped his wide brimmed hat up and pointed over to a large, well decorated three story building that was ablaze with activity. "That over there is the Wyrm's Head Tavern and Inn. Best Inn for some miles in my opinion, though recently a lot of drunkards and mercenaries have been making that place their home for some time. The owners don't seem to mind, so long as they pay up with coin or whatever they've got that would fetch enough to cover their tabs for the month." Kith nodded and smiled again "Thank you sir" and she made her way towards the Wyrms Head Tavern and Inn. As soon as she was out of earshot, the Gnome took a heavy drag from his pipe and blew a smoke ring that he swirled around with him finger, energizing it slightly with a twinge of magic to form it into a female figure that began to dance for him. "I forgot to mention, that the whole lot of them are quite the womanizers and someone as pretty as you might be in for some trouble if you're not careful enough."

Kith walked up to the intricately inlaid steps of the inn at the same time as someone was being forcefully thrown out of the doors by a couple of burly Ork bouncers. "That's what ya get for starting somethin ya can't finish ya weak nut sucking gank!" The Ork bouncers snickered for a moment until their eyes caught a glimpse of Kith and their demeanor quickly turned from angry to rather inviting. "Ah, sorry you had to see that miss. He is a trouble maker who harasses the patrons and never makes good on his tabs. Decided to pick a fight with Brutus here after he'd had too much Wyrm Fire Ale. Stuff get's to ya quick, but where are our manners.” Both Orks saluted Kith and spoke in unison. “Welcome to the Wyrms Head Tavern! Where the ale flows like the fire from the wyrms maw and the company is just as rough at times. Please come in and stay for a while." The two Ork bouncers held the doors open for Kith and practically rolled out the red carpet for her and she was more than happy to oblige them with a smile and saucy smirk as she walked up the steps towards the doors.

Once Kith strolled inside the tavern, the sound of a local favorite Arcsician and her band could be heard all around Kith in conjunction with the loud clanking of ale mugs, plates being gathered, drunken hunters cheering on their initiate into their ranks as they danced to the mage musician that kept the party more than lively. Kith walked past tables full of many different races that gathered to talk about nearly everything one could think of and to stuff their faces with anything they could get their tipsy fingers on. Kith soon found her way towards the bar, went straight to one of the seats, pulled it to the side and sat down, raising only one finger with a smile. The barkeep soon came by wearing rather fashionable attire and a chipper mood to boot. "Good mid evening miss, what poison can I pour for you or do you prefer other methods of intoxication?" Kith looked around at all of the aged bottles of wine, the strongest liquors, and the strangest concoctions that only an Ork would be able to pallet and she made her decision, albeit a simple one. "I'd like some of your local beer please." The waiter smiled "Not from around here are ya? Well, no problems with that, we'll fix you right up." He held up his hand and focused some of his energies in his fingertips and within a few seconds, conjured a drinking mug made of solid ice with intricate designs swirled throughout the inside of the mug. He then walked towards a barrel labeled "Wyrms Head Ale," poured a hefty drought of the thick liquid and then slid it from one area of the bar right to her. She stopped it with her fingers and quickly sucked the foam off the top before taking a hefty swig from the frosty mug. The beer was quite stout, with a little something extra that she hadn't tasted before in other ales. "Strong stuff huh? It's pretty tough at first but once it gets past the tongue, it's smooth sailing all the way down. Wyrms Head isn't exactly friendly if it comes back up, so don't get too carried away with it Hun." Kith reached into her pocket and pulled out some coin but the waiter waived his hand with a smile said "No need, it's only your first one of the night. Besides, if you like that, you should try Wyrms Fire. Spicy to some but tough to others." Kith flipped the coin towards him anyway and the barkeep caught the patronage between his fingers. "For the entertainment then" Kith said as she took another large drink from her mug. The waiter bowed and thanked her for her kindness and dropped the coin in a small jar that was already half full even though the day was only half over.

A man from the other corner of the bar turned around from his companions and took a long gaze at Kith. The rough cut and rugged man thought that she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen in the past few days, however the man wasn't looking for a casual dinner date for two. His mind was set square on Kith's other assets that she possessed as he gazed from her eyes down her breasts until he reached her feet. He saw her swirl the drink with her finger and finish off the rest of the foam and that simple act made more than his eyebrows stand at attention. He stood up from the table and began to walk away from his small group of friends with his chest puffed out and his trusty gnarled war axe attached to his back while some of his friends started the cat calls. "Uh oh, better what out." "Oh no, looks like the beast has set his eyes on something other than a monster tonight" "Ya think she stands a chance?" "I'll wager thirty koriya she falls head over heels for him in under three minutes." "I'll wager you're an sodding, shite faced gank hunter. Thirty against him." "Done!"

The man smirked a bit as he overheard his companions while he slowly walked up to Kith with brimming confidence and leaned in close to her. "Hey there honey, haven't seen you around here before. You must be new in town.” Kith paid no mind to the man and continued to drink her beer. “The name's Bikkea. My friends call me “The Beast,” but you can call me what ever you like honey." Bikkea reached in to touch Kith's hand but she quickly withdrew it before contact could be made and slapped his hand away. "Oooo, feisty and hard to crack. I like my women that way, just like my Granitoises." Though he was rugged and rather manly, Kith did not find him the least bit attractive and was not there to have a casual encounter with a man who she though was “compensating” so she thought of a trick she had learned some time ago and quickly put one of her natural abilities to the test . She was able to morph her face to that of the most mangled hybrid of races she could imagine and turned to meet him. "Why thank you for noticing darling" Kith said in the most awful and ear wrenching voice she could think of as Bikkea was completely dumbstruck by what he saw and gagged a little in the process. "What in the nine hells?! But..I just saw your face a second ago!? Are you...you couldn't be a-" Kith quickly morphed her face again but this time to a stunningly beautiful male elfs face "Well I didn't think you would swing that way honey but you know what they say-" Bikkea was now thoroughly startled and confused by what he saw. "Wait! I just...I thought you were?” Bikkea finally put two and two together and tried to make the most of the fumbling situation by turning it to his favor, in his mind at least. “Enough with these silly parlor tricks. Hmph, you couldn't handle it anyway. Probably tear that small frame of yours in half. I'd rather be ridden by the bar wench anyway. She looks like she's got the right hips for swinging, birthing and an ass you could bounce a coin off of." Bikkea was obviously making up for being rejected which did not normally happen to him due to his self proclaimed fame. He held his head high as he walked back to his friends who were now taunting him left and right for the amazing failure and show that was put on for them. "Hey Bikkea! What the hell happened? Ya choke or somethin?" "Yeah! She didn't look so bad from the start till you went over there!" "Pay up my friend, I think you owe me." “I uh...don't have the coin right now Gelrin.” “Why you no good...”
Kith smirked a bit as she reverted back to her human form and polished off the last of her drink while the waiter laughed to himself as he walked over to her again. "Quite an impressive display hun. Haven't seen someone take Bikkea down a notch in some time, not since he made the mistake of trying to grab an Amazoness' arse. Speaking of things I haven't seen in some time, as far as I know, Aelkeep hasn't been graced with a mixed race for at least ten years or so. A real treat when they come to town it seems though. I've always enjoyed talking with them and listening to how many boots they have walked in over the course of their life." The waiter reached under the counter and brought out a special bottle of elven wine, uncorked the bottle and poured a drink for himself along with Kith and slid the drink over to her. "Care to share some of your stories miss..?" “Kith” she smiled and replied as she leaned onto the counter, took a large drink and began to weave some of her tales of when she was the captain of a pirate ship.