There Kazoo stood upon one of the few dirt roads that lead between the Salquedor Grasslands, Lómëdor, and Estolad, but he did not continue. He stood there recounting the last few times he had entered what many believe to be like a Sanctuary compared to the wilds of the rest of the world. But his coming to these cities or villages had only brought him more problems. He did not like being alone much as he was when in the wilds of arda. But when he came to places like Estolad and Lómëdor, he would often find he much preferred to be alone compared to what he would meet within. Assassins, bounty hunters, and all sorts of other shady characters weren't what he had in mind. He stood there trying to decide if here really wanted to go through it again.

Knowing that he had already come this far he knew he couldn't turn back now, he would move on. Looking to the city once more there was only one thing left to do but wait. He had sent a friend in to Estolad first to scout the area and to try and figure out weather it was safe this time to continue. Though the sun was close to setting it still gave off enough light for most to believe it was still midday. And by the time of day it was he would returning at any moment. As if on qu he could see a figure off in the distance coming out of the village. As he neared he recognized him as his friend and follower Doug. The last time he had been to the temple of balance he had been granted a priest that would help him during his travels throughout arda. As he approached Kazoo spoke, "So is it safe to continue to Estolad?" he asked.

"Ya, I didn't run into any poblems while in Estolad." he responded.

Now having the answer he had wanted he gathered the few things he had on him and continued down the road to Estolad, his priest following behind him. But looking up ahead he noticed another figure along the road, but had no idea who it was. He only hoped he would cause no problems.

(OOC: I guess that's my cue ^^)
Sanzen stared blankly at the sky, wondering how long it has been. The sky was still the same as he last saw it, clear and bright. The establishments around him were no different, the consistent theme still there. His gaze wandered side to side, looking to see whether any familiar face would suddenly appear. Though it was quite a rarity to see a familiar face in this world, it was something to look forward to. That form of wishful thinking could somehow help him rediscover his roots, and perhaps look into the future for a change.

A bright glare caused him to close his eyes for a moment, the rays of the sun being cast in his direction. He turned his head sideways to avert the rays, and opened his eyes once more. Placing one hand near his forehead he tried to stare back at where his gaze was fixed at, but the sun was in the way. It was probably that time of day where he needed to find a place to rest, and his thoughts quickly fixated on that task. His mind was troubled whether he should rest out once again, or maybe find an inn. The great outdoors was always a haven for most, and though there were some deviants who considered him prey, the loot they carried and any other supplies went a long way for himself. He even managed to recover some gold pieces from the last rogue that tried to steal from him, whose face was forgotten.

The concept of lying on a warm bed seemed most comforting to him, and the gold in hand seemed to be the means to getting that comfort he sought. So, he decided to look for an inn. Looking around as to find any direction towards any inn, he noticed a man whose eyes were staring at him. The man was another stranger, yet the stare he was getting was somewhat different. Thinking it might be someone he knows, Sanzen raised his hand and waved at the man, hoping the friendly gesture would go a long way.

The day had been fairly uneventful for Alchemy up to now. It had started out perfectly normal however she might have overslept just a bit, but despite that she still left in time to reach Kaima inn, after all it was only down the road from where she lived. The inn had been pretty empty when she'd arrived, ave for the odd person who'd been staying overnight and had woken up early. She'd spent most of her morning washing dishes in a back room, humming merrily to herself with her sleeves rolled up and her hair tied back, slightly exposing her physical abnormalities.

The tune she was humming was a pretty old one, she'd picked it up from listening to the way the wind blew between tree trunks that were close together, the trees had been planted in such a way that any wind passing through them whistled and created a soft tune that Alchemy found pretty easy to hum along to. She finished off drying the late plate and set it aside with the rest, then picked up another pile next to it and began putting them away. Most of the other staff were out in the bar, taking care of the customers, and as far as Alchemy knew the innkeeper was still asleep and so most of the staff had started without him, at least the barman had told Alchemy to clean up the dirty dishes at any rate.

She had just finished putting the plates away when Remus, the barman, came into the kitchen, almost knocking over a waiter as he did so.
"Sorry," he grunted.
Alchemy finished what she was doing and rolled her sleeves down, staring at Remus Curiously. He was a tall and slightly overweight man with blond hair, hairy arms and a stubble, his eyes often reminded Alchemy of some sort of Basset hound.
"Ah, Alchemy!" Remus waddled over to Alchemy, his cheeks wobbling slightly "I need to pop round the corner for a few minutes, can you mind the bar while I'm gone?"
"Oh, sure," Alchemy replied.
"Thanks," Remus grunted "An', don't worry about serving drinks, Leon can do that for you."
"'Kay,"

Alchemy followed Remus out of the kitchen and took up a position behind the bar, she watched Remus leave and glance about for something to do. Instinctively she took out a cloth and began wiping the surface just for something to do, although it was pretty shiny already. She glanced out of the window at the far end of the room, watching the clouds move across the sky outside.
"Today's been pretty boring," she muttered "I wonder if anything interesting will happen."

As he neared the figure that he had seen along the road he could tell that he had noticed him as well. The man began to wave his hand in the air as if he had known him. At the moment however he couldn't tell, he wasn't close enough to make out the mans face. So he didn't seem hostile or at the least so the man knew he had been noticed he waved back. As he waved he Kazoo got an odd look from his priest Doug, "You know him?" he asked.

"Not sure, guess I'm about to find out." he replied as he now stood before the stranger. At a quick glance he could see that the man was taller then him, at least by a few inches. Also having gray hair it wasn't like that of an elderly person but that of a solid deep color, he couldn't have been twenty-five. Wanting to end the silence he spoke up, "Hey you heading into Estolad?" he asked. Soon after though he had realized he hadn't even introduced himself. "The names Kazoo by the way, and this is Doug behind me" he stated. As he waited for a responce he continued to switch his gaze from the bam before him and the village itself. Though he was planing on entering he still wasn't sure he sould. After all Estolad and Lomedor had only brought him pain in the past and he wasn't intrested in repeating it again.

As the man drew closer Sanzen began having second thoughts about his recent actions. The gesture of hand waving seems to provide a friendly atmosphere, but it may also attract attention from those who might perceive him as some gullible traveler. Though he seemed so sure of himself that he wasn't so easily fooled anymore, the piercing stares and following eyes caused a certain uneasiness in him. He hoped his time being idle on the road would be short, as it was not a proper place to stand around.

The man finally closed in on him, appearing short by maybe a few inches. He seemed to have company, by the way another fellow was shortly behind. The companion he assumed to be wore garments he recognized, but the man was unknown to him. It must have been a familiar face that compelled Sanzen to wave at the man, but now he was not so sure. Before he could avert his eyes and turn away, the man spoke to him.

"Hey you heading into Estolad?" the man spoke, breaking the silence that was slowly growing. The man continued, "The names Kazoo by the way, and this is Doug behind me". Sanzen looked at the companion behind Kazoo, and then looked back.

The man who called himself Kazoo was indeed smaller than him, but only by a few inches. His hair was like the midday sun, and his frame was somewhat similar to Sanzen's. The man seemed to carry himself well, but he expressed himself courteously that any doubts that clouded Sanzen's mind dissipated when Kazoo introduced himself. Another new face he thought to himself, as a smile shown in his face. Replying in a similar fashion Sanzen told Kazoo, "The name's Sanzen. I guess we're traveling the same way, then... " indirectly confirming Kazoo's question as to whether he is heading towards the town of Estolad as well.

Making a gesture as if to lead on, Sanzen then asked, "Shall we get going, then?"

As Alchemy carried on her chore she found herself beginning to daydream, not about the stuff girls her age usually dream about either. It was fairly obvious to anybody taking a close enough look at her to see that Alchemy wasn't normal, despite her insistence that she was genuinely human. Aside from her abnormal physical traits she also possessed some not so obvious attributes, aside from a hyper personality.

Anybody who actually knew Alchemy closely would probably notice that this seemingly eternal mood was being a little 'less eternal lately'; Recently Alchemy had been lapsing into temporary lapses of consciousness, sometimes just appearing outright depressed on the outside other times collapsing completely. As far as Alchemy was concerned she didn't care what this problem was, however something kept nagging at the back of her mind whenever she went into one of these lapses.

She gazed absently at the ceiling, apparently interested in a moth that was hovering just above her.
"Siren?" She muttered, barely audibly.
"Hm?"
All of a sudden Alchemy broke out of her stupor, looking around to see a short blond elf wiping a glass nearby her.
"Who's Siren?" The elf asked.
"Huh? Ah, nobody, I was just muttering at random," Alchemy hastened to answer, trying to pass it off with a nervous giggle "nothing important."

Leon (the elf) cocked his head slightly, giving Alchemy a suspicious expression.
"You sure about that?" He asked "it's just, you seem to be lapsing in and out lately, you feeling okay?"
"Err, well. I've been having these..." She paused for the sake of finding a better word "dreams I guess."
"About?"
"About this man, Siren. He's tall, and dark, has red eyes and..." She broke off, suddenly realizing that she was blushing.
"That it?" Leon asked "you're getting lovesick or something?"
"H-huh? No way, I only met him once," she stammered "you know, I think I'll go check if Remus is back yet, see ya!"

She hurried out from behind the counter and practically ran out of the front door. Once she had she leaned against the front wall of the inn and heaved a sigh, it was bad enough she was having crazy thoughts about Siren without Leon and anybody else trying to understand what she was going through after all non of them were like her so as far as she knew she was going through some weird phase that only her kind would go through.

As the sun finally showed signs of setting and the sky was becoming darker he listened quietly as the stranger spoke, "The name's Sanzen. I guess we're traveling the same way, then...Shall we get going, then?" he stated as Kazoo continued to walk toward Estolad. From where they had been it only took a few minutes to reach the out skirts of the village. Though he was now on the outskirts of the village he wasn't sure as to what he was there for. He had been traveling around from place to place with no real reason behind it. He wouldn't be able to keep this up he had to find some sort of purpose or meaning to his life.

Only a few people happened to be out on the streets. Of course at this time of day that was to be expected, most would have been in their homes and comfortable an hour or so ago. The only people still walking around were either on their way home or perhaps trying to find a place to stay for the night, something they would have to do soon as well. And as luck would have it they happened to be standing rather close to such a place. Reading the sign overhead the door it stated Kaima Inn. Looking to Sanzen he wondered if he had been to this place before, not sure he asked, "You ever been to this place before, Kaima Inn?"

While waiting for a response he looked back to the Inn. In front leaning on the wall was a girl. With Fiery red hair she appeared to be in her late teens. And though he couldn't quite place it he found himself looking upon a familiar face. Not sure what to do he opted to find out now rather then wait for a response from Sanzen.

Walking up to the girl he spoke, "Excuse me, but have we met, you look familiar."

Sanzen walked along the man, keeping a short distance as they traveled in the same direction. His previous question about going seems to have answered itself, as they walked towards the village. Taking small steps, Sanzen took his time as his eyes wandered around. The buildings, the feel of the ground at his feet, they certainly brought back old memories. It has been a while since he came to a village like this, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't his first time entering a village like Estolad. He had been here before, but there was business involved. How it played out he had forgotten, but whatever that past was, the present was so much better.

His mind wandered back into the present situation, as he found himself standing outside somewhere. A sign on the door read Kaima Inn, which was where they were both headed. How long they walked towards it he didn't know, but at least they both got there. The man called Kazoo, whom he was following, asked him "You ever been to this place before, Kaima Inn?"

Sanzen did not know how to answer that question properly. He recalled clearly being to the village, but where he went while in the village he was not so sure. The roads and buildings looked familiar, but they were strange enough as to feel that it was his first time seeing them. The inn itself brought back certain feelings and memories, but they still did not help put him at ease. It was as if the memories he had of Estolad were not his at all, even though they looked so familiar.

Judging from where his head was pointed at Sanzen assumed he was looking at the girl, who was leaning on the wall. Her features and face did not strike him in any way as familiar, but they were somewhat attractive. Sanzen kept his distance for now, waiting to see what would happen between Kazoo and the girl.

Whilst she stood outside Alchemy took time to reflect on her current position. There wasn't much she knew about it, but somehow she felt it was a lot better than ignoring it outright. As it happened she had tried to pretend she was still perfectly normal no matter what her mood was doing, but her co-workers didn't seem to be buying it. The other day she remembered Leon catching her half asleep after the inn had closed up for the night at one of the tables, her eyes appearing misted over and her senses somewhere else entirely. Back then she'd tried to act as though it had never happened but it was very hard when someone had just caught you in the middle of it, especially for a person like Leon.

She glanced down the street to see if Remus had come back yet, hoping that perhaps he'd be a little more sympathetic than Leon in this matter. When she'd first applied for a job most of the staff kept asking her if she was some sort of demon or vampire, and found her amnesia very suspicious, however Remus hadn't been like that. He had been curious but seemed to accept that Alchemy had forgotten everything about her origins. What she hadn't mentioned though was that she forgot them on purpose, and that she'd been warned that anything to jolt her memories back would end up being rather painful.

However, Remus still hadn't come back yet and the sun was already sinking closer towards the horizon. She looked back at the ground again. She thought perhaps that she could blame her depression on the side effects of her amnesia, after all that did seem likely and it almost always happened when she was dwelling on her memories.

She looked up after a few minutes and noticed three strangers approaching the inn, of course this was perfectly natural, it was an inn after all so new people were to be expected, not to mention that was part of the reason Alchemy took the job in the first place. She didn't move to greet the strangers though, since they already seemed to be in the middle of a short conversation. However it was cut off when the shorter man noticed Alchemy. When Alchemy got a good look at him she swore that she'd seen him before, only younger and defiantly with different company. Luckily her amnesia didn't cover the last six or seven years.
"Me?" She continued staring at the man curiously "Well. My name's Alchemy, does that ring any bells?"