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"Wheeee!" She exclaimed as they ran. When they finally came to a stop she wandered down to the end of the alleyway. "They'll be finding us soon. The bears." She clarified turning around and making a swiping motion in Lykala's direction. She turned back around and looked up at the roof of the building in front of her. "But they can't climb, too heavy you see." She grabbed a barrel and set it down a few feet from the wall. She ran jumped on top of the barrel and then to the wall, ran a short distance up it and grabbed onto the edge of the roof. A tile she had grabbed onto fell off and crashed into the ground below, but she managed to pull herself up. She lied down, hooking a foot into a chimney, and held her hands out, noticing that one of her fingers looked strange. She yanked it back into place, noticing the pain now. "Looks like I'll be completely sober soon. Must of been beer I was drinking." She commented to herself. "Come on lil Licka."

Lykala glared up at Skadi. "It's Lykala. Still, good idea," following her example, he leapt up from the barrel and propelled himself up to the roof, with a little more ease than Skadi. She wore armour - he didn't, being fast enough to avoid most things that came his way. He crouched instinctively, hearing the organized clinking of the guards' boots on concrete. "Nice call," he mumbled, nodding appreciatively, "How's that thumb of yours going?"

"It hurts, thanks for asking Lykala. Liquor goes through my system too quickly." Skadi got up into a crouch and moved over to the other edge of the building. A bustling market was down below and the guards were trying to find out what the commotion on the other street was, "Come on, let's go find something you can buy for me before anybody thinks to look up." She hopped off the edge and landed in front of a couple of rug carriers. "Pardon us." She held them up with a hand so that Lykala could come down too.

Lykala landed deftly next to Skadi, waving the rug-carriers off with a genteel hand. "Buy you something? For your thumb?" he stuffed his hands into his pockets, keeping his eyes open for any guards that might recognise their distinct appearances, "Well, alright... But after this we're going info hunting, alright? I'd rather not leave this weird stuff alone for too long, especially seeing as the person who told me seemed kinda worried about it all."

He began to wander through Gridamas' labyrinthine streets, Skadi in tow. He had made a point, after arriving only recently, to learn where the busiest spots were. Knowing this, it was easy to find a local apothecary and purchase some medical. "Alright, here you are," he said, throwing a roll of bandages and a healing potion to Skadi, "I needed some anyway."

Skadi blinked repeatedly when he gave her the medical supplies. She thought she had been clear, maybe other elven cultures were that different. With a shrug she began bandaging her hand, stashing the potion for later use. "You've never courted anyone before, have you?" She asked as they left the apothecary.

"It's been, what, less than two hours since we met?" Lykala turned to face Skadi, shrugging his inconspicuous coat off and tucking it under his arm, "And already, you've got me thrown out of an inn, thrown me into someone, got me in trouble with the City Guard. Forgive me for not feeling in the mood for courting," he sighed and shrugged. "Now, are you coming to try and find some information, or do you want another bar brawl?"
The apothecary eyed Lykala curiously, to which he responded with ignorance. "This is hardly the way to treat a lady," said the man behind the counter; he groaned.
"Skadi, look," he began, "We've just met, and I have absolutely no inclination for courting anyone at this moment in time. I need information, and if you have any, I would really appreciate some co-operation. 'Kay?"

Skadi sighed, grabbed his arm and started walking. "I'm fine with finding information, I just felt that two young elves, such as ourselves, new to a human city would draw slightly less attention to themselves if they looked to be lovers. Especially since we're both openly wearing weapons." She whispered in his ear. "Besides, I was only thinking of window shopping." A jeweler called out to the two of them, but Skadi just kept looking at Lykala and ignored him with a shrug the jeweler turned his attention to another couple. "So, where do you think we should go to find information? An inn? You don't have enough presence to be treated with enough respect to get information there. That's probably what got you into trouble last time."

Lykala laughed derisively, "The only reason I got into trouble was because I was a bit clumsy. The fact that you made the fight a bit worse probably contributed to that, too. "Now, an inn is all well and good for information and mercenary hire. However... the kind of information I'm after is a little more on the occult side, so we should head to the nearest psychic or maybe even a mages' guild," he contemplated Skadi's position and decided, even if it was a little painful, to oblige her. He slipped his arm into a more comfortable position, linking it with her's, "Sound good?"

"Sounds like an acceptable plan." She patted his arm. "But don't say I made the fight worse. It was hardly a fight at all before I got there. It looked more like a fox hunt, and the fox rarely escapes." She nodded towards a sign for a mage's guild. "They might have a potion to help you beef up a bit more." As they entered the guild she withdrew her arm from his and wiped the smile off her face. She'd let him do the talking, this was his idea after all. She stood in a corner looking at various potions and stretching her arm out. Holding it like that had put a cramp in it.

Lykala rolled his eyes. Skadi was impossible. Nonetheless, at least she was out of the way and unlikely to cause a fight in a respectable environ such as this. He approached the woman at the desk, who greeted the young Syrium with a brief smile. "Can I help you, sir?"
"As a matter of fact, you can," he laced his fingers, leaning forward onto the oak desk in order to hide his voice. Information like his would often cause unecessary panic, "I need to speak to someone who is a little more knowledgeable in the state of affairs than myself. Someone who... well, knows the other continents."
"Really? And what is the nature of your talk?" the receptionist cocked an eyebrow up, cynical, "Surely one of the inns would suffice for such information."
Grinning, he looked down at the desk, then back up at her. "Perceptive," he nodded, "But the information I have is a little more... sensitive, compared to the rumours you pick up at the inn, no?"
"I see," said the receptionist, peering down at a ledger, "Well... there's no-one in, but I'm sure if you went to one of our members on the outskirts, they could provide you with the information you seek."
She provided him with directions to several places, fortunately all within a day's walk. He thanked the woman with an easy smile and surreptitious wink, returning to Skadi.

While Lykala spoke with the receptionist Skadi ran her fingers over the armor covering her forearms. "Maybe I should get a dress. I won't have to keep my arm tied up while we're here at least. Although..." She clenched her fist and noticed something next to her, she almost swung her arm, but stopped herself. "You have what we came for, I trust. And just how long were you standing there?" She asked as she turned.

He grinned mischievously, loving the sudden upper hand over Skadi. He exploited it to its fullest, "Long enough to hear you contemplating a dress. You struck me as a more... tomboyish sort of person, and it's hard to start a brawl covered in satin and silk, wouldn't you agree?"
Lykala held a small map in his hand, which detailed Gridamas as well as its outlying areas, "There's a few mages around and about Gridamas, but none like what I think we need. So... the outskirts it is. Fancy a hike?" after a small moment, he added, still with the same teasing tone, "There'll be monsters for you to fight~!"

Skadi smiled, she deserved it. "Oh, so you can man up, if only when you think you have an edge. I just might be able to make a man out of you yet." She wrapped her arm around his again and headed out of the guild hall. "Now, if memory serves, you seem to be under the impression that I get into far too many fights, and you are also under the impression that if a person were to be wearing 'satin and silk' they would not get into as many brawls. I will not confirm or deny either of these. But if you wish, we can go to the dress maker and have her make us both up some lovely dresses. So, want to play dress up?"

"I... would rather focus on the task at hand. You know, rising darkness, impending doom for Gridamas, seeking out a mage to help us find out what the heck is going on. The whole reason you and I bumped into each other, remember?" Lykala wrapped a genteel smile around his lips, averting the eyes of as many curious citizens as he could, "And for the record, satin and silk do have an affect on who punched whom first. Not many people hit proper ladies, right?"

They reached a fork in the main trading road. Lykala - still surprised that not one city guard had recognised either him or Skadi - removed his arm from Skadi's and nodded to himself. "I'll be heading out to find that mage now. Thatchley, I think his name was. Anyway, if you want to stick around in Gridamas and go to that dress-makers, you're more than welcome to."

"Ahahaha, not many proper ladies go to bars. Besides, you should know that I'm usually the one who starts the brawls, dress or not." She interlaced her fingers behind her head. "Dresses are boring, I'd rather have an axe, much more useful and much easier to appreciate the craftsmanship, besides if there are any beasties out there I'd hate for you to lose your pretty little head."

Lykala nodded, and led the way out of Gridamas. Whilst the city was a bustling haven, outside was a far more rural environment. The scenery changed very quickly, from cobblestone and housing to plainsland and dirt paths. He took a deep, long breath of the fresh air and turned to Skadi. "Well, provided we make good time, we should be at Thatchley's place before sundown. There's a few farming communities along the way, so please don't cause any trouble in them. Alright?"
Despite the receptionist's sure directions, Lykala was uneasy about travelling on foot to this place. Numerous sightings of goblins and other such creatures had made travelling off the main, guarded trade routes a dangerous task, even at the best of times.

"You seem to be under the impression that I start fights for no reason. That hurts. I start fights for very good reas ons" She caught a foul scent in the air and stopped moving. There were some denser trees and bushes on the right side of the path. "Lykala, don't move." Skadi pulled out her scimitar and readied her hammer. She waited a long minute, then she heard the chattering of one of the goblins. She threw the hammer in the direction of a tree. It struck a resounding blow on the tree and sent the two goblins hiding behind it scattering. She bounded towards them, dropping into a roll just in time to avoid getting skewered by half a dozen bolts. She threw a knife into the chest of one of the skittering goblins when she came out of her roll, and cleaved the second's head in half with her scimitar.

Lykala rolled his eyes, unimpressed. Did Skadi think him completely helpless? Spotting an orc - obviously the leader of the smaller, weaker, and easily misled goblins - approaching loudly with a hefty battleaxe in either hand, he decided to step in. He flicked both daggers from their homes and darted towards the green-skinned brute with almost blinding speed. Not as fast as some of the stronger Syrium, but fast enough to catch the orc off guard. He cut through its left armpit, causing it to drop the respective battleaxe, and whilst it reeled he plunged his second dagger into its skull. Satisfied by the efficient kill, he kept his daggers out and watched carefully for any would-be ambushers.

Skadi disappeared into the foliage to hunt down the remaining goblins. A dozen or so seconds and several dying screams later, Skadi exited the brush. She had several crossbows in a crude bag made from the clothes of the goblins. She cocked an eyebrow when she saw the dead orc. "So that's where the smelly one got off to. Check him for a map or note. These were just one patrol. There should be a larger encampment of them not far from here. While you're getting information, I'll get us some respect and maybe even a tidy profit." She retrieved her weapons and cleaned them.

Lykala groaned, stuffing his blades away. "I'd rather not stir up any trouble," he mumbled, "Didn't I just make that clear before we left? We can take care of the encampment later, or leave them to the patrols or whatever," he realised that he had forgotten to clean his blades of orc blood, and was sure that it was now in the metal scabbards, too. Unsheathing his blades to rub them clean, he kept them out this time and did as Skadi suggested. There was a tatty, old, thoroughly worn and almost illegible map in a moccasin pouch. He squinted but couldn't decipher anything from it. This little excursion, he mused, was taking a larger detour than he had planned for. "How big was the encampment?" he asked, assuming that she had chanced a glimpse of it.