The changeling blinks, cocking a brow at Gerhart as he simply breezes by a rather heavy insinuation in his response. “Ah.” he says simply, not poking or prodding any further on a sensitive topic; one which he sympathizes with, however small that may be.

Ideally, Kvasir would have slipped into the Ruby Lotus to get his room— and they would have been able to slip off without the fox. Caedes’ steps slow as they approach the inn, brows furrowing slightly when Gerhart pauses for so long, he wonders if he’s waiting for him to finish his sentence— oh, no. There he goes. He’s still going.

“... Right.” he agrees, ineloquently to say the least, in light of the hesitation. Still, he offers Kvasir a polite smile— working to return some semblance of subtlety into their conversation. “We do have a few stops to make before we actually get settled down here,” he agrees without trying to go into the details; he offers Kvasir a polite tip of his head.

“We’d be happy to find you later when we visit the Temple— for now, you should get yourself settled. I’m sure we’ll meet up again later.”

It does go without saying that there is most certainly something odd about those who linger about the Ruby Lotus; it’s subtle, almost hard to notice, but Caedes catches the metal glinting in the afternoon sun. The image of a sun, embedded with a crescent moon in its center, is a theme that could be noticed if one were to look closely. Upon rings, upon necklaces, upon earrings and subtle jewelries— it is present, but not flagrantly so as to be garish.

In fact, it mingles almost eloquently with the rest of Starlight City’s beautiful hand-crafted jewelry— but to him, it represents something else.

“Kvasir— I hate to meet and run, but we do need to be on our way.” Caedes blinks, his smile warm as he tilts his head to Kvasir. “Stay safe; we’ll run into each other again, I’m sure.” He turns his gaze to Gerhart, nodding over his shoulder, before offering Kvasir a friendly wave. He turns on his heel, not waiting for Gerhart to follow— but he does turn his head just enough to speak quietly to the arachnid on his shoulder.

“Keep an eye on him.”

Charlotte drops from his shoulder; her invisible form scuttles around the feet of loitering individuals until she reaches the edge of the Ruby Lotus— all eyes, indeed, on Kvasir as instructed.

For his part, the young adventurer didn't seem to mind if Kvasir wanted to follow them for longer. He raises up as if he is about to offer to allow a third guest when Caedes takes off. For a moment he looks between the two of them, a confused look on his face like a dog hearing a high frequency noise. This all happened very fast and he is very not fast.



"I guess...we are going?" He offers an apologetic smile to the fox man before sheepishly running after Caedes. "I didn't think it would be that bad if he joined us. Doesn't seem like he's in on any of this, plus it'll probably help just to have more eyes and ears. I bet his hearing is even better than mine with those ears. Seemed pretty helpful, plus you two hit it off on the flowers. Maybe he likes you!" He grins and gives a small laugh, briefly looking back towards the Ruby Lotus to see if Kvasir has moved any.



"Besides, he seems pretty lost around here. I can get my bearings pretty easily, but I don't know about him. I'd hate to think of something happening to him just because we had a job to do."



There was, at the very least, an honest naiviety to Gerhart's words. He didn't have any other intent than a genuine concern for a stranger. Adventurer or not, he was a long way from being willing to ignore someone that he could help.

"Oh-- that's-- quite alright..."

Confusion flashes across Kvasir's face as Caedes makes his all-too-hasty escape, throwing forth a careful chain of words that are awfully polite, but clear in their message of "we are getting out of here and we have no plan of letting you come with us right now." The smile and wave he offers do not feel disingenuous or curt, but it is all too clear that he has somewhere to be and that he likely cannot account for the presence of a fresh stranger in the mix. It is fair, but he can't help but be taken aback by just how quickly Caedes disengages, not even sparing Gerhart a second look to ensure he's following along.

To his credit, Gerhart certainly tries to salvage the situation ever so slightly with the equally confused comment and the smile he shoots Kvasir's way, but he's just as quick to run off, following behind Caedes in a burst of speed, clearly not wishing to be left behind, their conversation indistinguishable from this distance. All Kvasir can think to do is offer a small wave in return, a quiet little sigh leaving him as he watches the two figures disappear.

...Well, spontaneity aside, they had offered to find him later, so that was... something. He certainly could kill some time by settling in and sneaking around to catch cherryblossom petals, at least.

It's with that thought in mind that he heads into the Ruby Lotus, Caedes's vague wish that he would stay safe settling uneasily on his shoulders.

---

More than a few hours have passed by the time Kvasir returns to the Ruby Lotus with a respectable supply of petals carefully stored away in his satchel, each one of them secured in vials for him to sort through later. He's pretty content with the amount he'd obtained, for now; he'll have to set aside some time later on to think of what precisely he wants to do with them, what kind of ointments or oils he wants to start on with them, though such things are hardly at the forefront of his mind at this particular moment.

No, right now, he's got a particular ash-and-earth duo from earlier on his mind-- he's still yet to catch sight of them, not since they'd run off earlier, but he certainly still remembers their words about the Solunalian Temple, and he's not keen on just being left hanging. Especially not with the bad feeling that's followed him everywhere-- the feeling of being watched, the shadow in the corner of his eye, the uneasiness surrounding the clusters of brilliantly-clothed individuals all around. He's quite certain they know something about all of this. So rather than immediately going back up to his inn room, Kvasir elects to settle on a bench outside of the inn, sighing to himself as he settles in place.

It'll be rotten luck if Gerhart and Caedes just happen to not come back this way, but... he certainly hopes they do.

What? He seriously wants a tagalong?

Caedes blinks at him a few times, before chuckling.

“Gerhart, my dear friend.” Caedes breathes a sigh, offering the swordsman a warm smile. “I’m afraid I’m not a terribly likable person, despite what I may or may not know about the local flora of the Crescent Isles. Highly doubtful.” There’s a playfulness to the edge of his tone, “And, we didn’t leave him alone. A dear friend of mine will be keeping him company to ensure he’s safe until we’re done following up on our leads.”

His steps are confident and sure, taking him to where they first need to go; but now Gerhart is putting forth his opinion on Kvasir, and Caedes is not particularly keen to have a third party… who they met on the street… join them for such sensitive information.

“This information is for us— the more of us there are, the more these people might not talk to us. We’ll meet him when we get back, okay?”

---

Whether Kvasir has noticed her or not, he has had a second party join him on his cherry blossom escapade.

For a time, Charlotte simply watched the fox man climb cherry blossom trees to pluck the blossoms— but after a while, she thought that it looked fun, and Kvasir was plenty safe, so she joined him— most likely without his knowledge. Probably. She is quiet and invisible, so it’s probably fine.

Caedes had said to keep an eye on him, and she still is!

Just, above him now.

So, every now and then, if Kvasir noticed a sudden, sporadic scattering of cherry blossoms from up above, it was Charlotte knocking them down onto his head and shoulders at what she considered perfect timing to avoid suspicion. The prismatic spider would wait until he wasn’t looking to start prodding at the blossom stems.

And, most of the time, he would take them when her aim was correct!

It gave her a little bit of joy to see him put away one of the blossoms she’d knocked down.

She likes to help out.

Eventually though, the cherry blossom escapade would end; and Charlotte would skitter after Kvasir like an eager puppy, still unseen to the naked eye, as he walked away. Her eight legs carry her after the fox while he meanders his way from the cherry blossoms back to the Ruby Lotus, where she would crawl up behind the bench and wait patiently with him.

Even if he doesn’t know she’s there.

---

First, Caedes dragged Gerhart off to visit an architect.

The Solunalian temple had been built about two years ago by a Dwarven Builder, one Ena Hagane, whose business sat humbly just outside the market district. Ena was nice enough as Caedes and Gerhart stepped inside— an old, salt-and-pepper bearded dwarf with a cheery attitude, and a ring on his left hand that featured the sun and a little crescent moon.

He was happy to answer most questions, and accidentally dropped a small line about the hollow walls behind the altar while rambling about the original blueprints.

Second, came the sculptor.

The Solunalian temple had requested the statue of both Solaria and Lunala two years before the creation of the temple; the sculptor was colder and less enthusiastic than Ena had been, and didn’t provide a ton of information— but did mention something about infusing the eyes of the statues with enchanted stones, to create the illusion that the statues were alive.

A necklace hung around his neck of a sun, with a crescent moon nestled inside of it.

Third, would come the owner of the Ruby Lotus, herself; which meant that they needed to return. Caedes considers all they’ve learned so far, one hand resting against his chin. In the streets, as the sun begins to tilt towards the horizon, the lanterns begin to light one-by-one. “... There’s something they’ve built behind the altar, I’m almost certain of it.” he breathes to Gerhart, turning his eyes up as they approach the Ruby Lotus, to see…

Kvasir.

He's not waiting for them, is he?

"Oh don't say that, you've already made two friend on this trip." He grinned, counting himself and Kvasir as a friend of Caedes without consulting either of them. There is still a bit of lingering guilt about leaving Kvasir behind. Gerhart does look back over his shoulder, there's no one else with the fox man......Caedes was strange, but these are the types of people you meet adventuring.



The trip to the architect is a first for the young adventurer, but not in a good way. It was hands down one of the most boring conversations he had ever been a part of. Caedes could probably pick up through context clues that Gerhart didn't exactly have a formal education to say the least. He could clearly read and write, but history and such were lose on him.



OK, wait, back tracking a bit, the sculptor was the most boring conversation he had been a part of. At least Ena knew how to pepper the story with some fun details or flourish. This scupltor guy? Dry as carved marble.



He shakes his head from dozing off as they walk, "You think so? I honestly didn't catch much about that. Maybe it's like an emergency escape hatch or something. Get people out if the town was attacked by some big thing.....I don't know much about magics or enchantments, so I can't say if there is anything that fancy."

The fall of dusk in the Crescent Isles is just as lovely as it is anywhere else in the Moonglade; the skies are a brilliant watercolor tapestry of azure and violet, delicate, gold-stained brushstrokes of rose still clinging to the edges of the horizon as the sun starts to slink away. The stars peek through the night-spun fabric like hand-sewn beads on silk, shining brilliantly over the rooftops and through the clusters of flowers adorning the trees. Scenery like this is unrivaled across all of Charon; it's difficult to find a place as vivid in its colors or as majestic in its celestial backdrops as anywhere in the Moonglade. It's the kind of pretty image Kvasir would spend a lot more time savoring if he wasn't so very on-edge.

Something has just felt so distinctly off ever since he stepped foot into Starlight City-- as foggy and unreliable as his memory is, he's fairly certain his ventures this way in the past were hardly ever so nerve-wracking. But there are shadows that fall beneath the light of stars, ink that lines the city's brilliant colors, and Kvasir has had one hell of a difficult time shaking the bad feeling following him everywhere, even in a venture as innocuous as foraging.

It may be part of the reason he's so eager to wait for Caedes and Gerhart, despite hardly knowing them. They feel like a beacon of safety amidst something nebulously dark and tumultuous, and Kvasir... can't help but want to hold on.

He's not sure how long he waits, but the distant sound of familiar voices gets his ears twitching, and he's quick to glance over his shoulder to find those very same figures approaching-- Gerhart, who hardly seems to register his presence, and Caedes, who has a look of subtle surprise etched across his pristine features. Huh. Seems neither one of them really anticipated him waiting around for them, but... too bad.

Kvasir manages a small wave before rising to his feet and managing a slow approach. "Well, hello again, you two."

“Have I?” Caedes chuckles, brows furrowing slightly at Gerhart as he remarks about his questionable status of friendship with both parties. “Oh, well... I’m flattered.” He's not terribly sure he agrees with that; but, Gerhart is a reliable and well-meaning, albeit naive young man. Kvasir is... well, he doesn't know Kvasir at all, does he?

He looks up; and from where he’s standing, he can see the light glinting off a familiar shape lingering close by Kvasir on the bench— but she is quite hard to see. “It’s possible… but, we won’t know unless we figure out how to get through to it… We might be able to snoop around a bit when we visit. It could be any number of things, really; could even just be a vent, but the fact that they specifically requested it makes me think otherwise...”

As they approach Kvasir, he starts to trail off; and Caedes offers him a wave and a chuckle, covering the momentary surprise of the man waiting for them. “Kvasir,” he greets, looking from the fox-man, to the empty space beside him. “I take it you’ve gotten yourself settled with the Ruby Lotus?” he asks, stepping past the man to where the empty space beside him lies.

He doesn’t take a seat, though; rather, he simply leans an arm against the back, and adjusts his weight to feel natural— giving Charlotte the leverage she needs to creep up his arm. The light flickers oddly against his cloak as she does so— a shimmer in the sun not unlike the glint off of glass or quartz at certain angles. Caedes pays it no mind, almost as if he’s not seeing it, himself.

He is, he just doesn’t want to draw attention to her.

Once she’s latched onto his arm enough to get her grip, Caedes pushes off the bench. “I hope you weren’t waiting for us? We’ve just finished what we need to do, so…” He looks to Gerhart, resting his hands against his belted waist, before looking back to Kvasir. “I suppose we owe you a trip to the temple, don't we?”

"If you need a distraction to check it out, I'm very good at being loud and annoying." He grinned childishly up at Caedes as they walked.



Gerhart looks between them both with a sheepish, fading smile. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted, good to see ya again Kva! Sorry we made ya wait around, hopefully it wasn't too boring."



For his part, the young adventurer does flop down onto the bench legs stretched out and leaned back to rest. Once more he catches the curious movement of something along Caedes shoulders, with squinted eyes he tries to ascertain what is there. It has to be something, but he can't catch sight of anything. Must have just been the glint of sun off a button or something.



"Do we have to go back there so soon? This is why I said we should've just brought him with us right away." As professional as he had tried to hold himself, the slightest bit of a whine does peak through. The slow and methodical approach was not something he had developed yet. Maybe in their next adventure he would be a bit more composed, but for a man who only knows how to fight, this part of working is new to him.

Well. Someone certainly seems awfully hellbent on not letting his prior surprise bleed through.

It's subtle, now, well-veiled, obscured carefully beneath a pleasant smile and a wave, but Kvasir hadn't missed that momentary glint of surprise in Caedes's eyes when they fell upon him, as though he'd expected he'd merely forget about the whole thing as soon as they'd parted ways. It's almost funny, really, to contrast the careful way Caedes seems to compose himself, every movement of every muscle in his face carefully calculated, against the open, thoughtless smile Gerhart offers in turn. They really are an odd pair, aren't they?

"Oh, I was hardly waiting around or anything," he says with a smile, waving his hand briefly in the air as though he's dismissing the concern entirely, watching curiously as Caedes and Gerhart both settle briefly on the bench. Kvasir makes no move to follow, merely standing and idly fiddling with the clasp of his herb-satchel, searching for something to keep himself busy in the moment. "I actually only just got back here a short while ago, myself. I've been out foraging, and I just figured I might linger about to see if you two might pop up around the same time."

He decides to neglect to mention some of the odder parts of the cherry blossom venture-- really, he's never seen blossoms practically jump off their branches like that before. It likely wouldn't catch their interest, and... the Moonglade is a strange and mystical place, after all.

"Ah, if it's no trouble, I'd be happy to visit the temple with you both," Kvasir says, glancing between the two of them before turning his attention to the area around them once more. Gods, he really cannot shake the feeling of wrongness about this place, can he? It's regrettable how he can't hide the way he shudders over it. "As long as I'm no burden to either of you, at least."

“That’s good to hear.” Caedes remarks; he listens to the sound of Gerhart flopping down on the bench and stretching out. He breathes a slight sigh— quiet, as it comes from between slightly parted lips— and offers Gerhart a bemused look. “We would’ve had to go back anyway; we went to speak to people about the temple.” he answers, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. “It’s an important step— you wouldn’t want to go in there with no knowledge at all about it, would you?”

He considers their situation while Kvasir tells them he’s been out foraging; the ideal scenario would have been to shake Kvasir off before entering the temple… but now that he’s here… Maybe the best idea would have been to simply be honest at first— but honesty doesn’t come easily to him....

Nor does it come easily in a part of the city, full of presumed cultists.

But, it would be a fun test to see if Kvasir actually knows anything about them; and so, Caedes looks around. Although his gaze around the area seems fairly casual, to a trained eye, they might notice him scoping individuals within earshot.

There aren’t many— but there’s enough to cause Caedes to slip closer into Kvasir’s personal bubble. “Actually, Kvasir— I’ve got to be honest with you.” he remarks, hoping those big, fluffy fox ears of his can pick up on his quiet tone. “Gerhart and I are here on an investigation into that little temple; and while your presence won’t be a burden, I do need to know if you can hold your own in a fight… if it comes down to it.”

It’s about as straightforward as he can be; he looks to Gerhart, offering a lull in the conversation for the young man to include whatever he may if he desires. “But... I would hate to drag you into trouble, if you’re not looking for it like we are; I'm afraid it might not be as much sight-seeing as one might like.”

"Jokes on you, I go into stuff not knowing anything about it all the time." He grinned with all of his himbo charisma up at Caedes. "That's why I'm gonna be pretty damn insistent ya bring Kvasir along. If two heads are better than one then three's gotta be better than two. That's just math."



Another grin and laugh as he sits up a bit more properly now that they are actually discussing the quest at hand. Gerhart admittedly should take this a bit more seriously and he knows it, but having yet to face any of the horrors he would face in the future he remains naively optimistic rather than stubbornly optimistic.


"Don't worry if you can't fight Kva~ I can keep ya both safe if need be." He had never actually seen Caedes in action, so Gerhart had no idea how adorable of an offer that really was. "He is right though, can't have ya with if ya get squeamish. That's just a disaster waiting to happen."

Ah, there it is.

The inevitable culmination of every strange little thing he's taken note of, from the ominous feeling that's followed him since he stepped foot into Starlight City, to the strange clusters of people and their stranger looks amongst themselves, to the hushed whispers he's pretended not to notice Caedes and Gerhart exchanging when they think he's not paying them any mind finally sets itself up before him-- something is not quite right with that temple, and these two have been trying to figure out what exactly it might be. Hell, something is just not quite right with the city, he imagines; no wonder they seemed so keen on speeding off earlier. Hard to trust anyone in a place plagued by danger and mystery.

Kvasir listens carefully as Caedes asks him if he's capable of holding his own, as Gerhart so sweetly interjects to say he's more than happy to protect them both if it comes down to it, as a sense of quiet gentility finally undercuts the conversation just to effectively say this is your chance to walk away.

Oh, but he's never been keen on turning his back on things like this-- never been keen on taking his chance to leave when the option to offer his aid waves before him like a war banner.

"Ah, well," he begins, softening his tone, lowering it as much as possible. "...I'm a ranged fighter. I have a shortbow and arrows with me, but I've splendid aim, regardless of what this might suggest." He manages a bitter laugh as he taps the eyepiece over his left eye, a surge of resentment for divine selfishness fluttering to life within him. "I'm better with healing than anything, but believe me, if you believe things may get ugly in there, I am all too happy to help you both."