She had to admit she was sweating a little when the orcs were talking about a hellhound. Technically Kuroguro wasn't a hellhound, but most people didn't know the difference. She waved goodbye to them as they went on their merry way. Nothing to see here. Yup. Totally and perfectly fine. Not guilty or suspicious at all. In response to the girl's compliments, Myouga grinned from ear to ear. Everybody now introduced themselves, and they were starting to get to know each other! As soon as Salene asked who she was the little arcanist began to spin with a flourish. "I am the great and magnificent Myouga–arcanist extraordinaire! I'm from Ataiyo, but I go just about anywhere I want!" Waving her wand which was a stick of cypress, she gave a bow like a performer after a show. "Oh don't worry about Kuroguro! He'll wake up eventually. Plus I've got him in the 'Time-Out Snow Globe'! See?" She took out the snow globe and shook it. Particles of snow went into a flurry on the inside then settled down. If you looked closely, there was a small dog-shaped blob lying on the bottom. 

The small oni frowned, then tucked the globe away. "He still needs a looot of training. Progress is pretty slow." She sighed, then went back to her cheery self. "Nice to meet you Salene! Can I call you Sallie? Sallie sounds good doesn't it? Sorry about my puppy eating your food–he does that to everybody. Will this be ok for an apology?" Pulling out a seemingly ordinary hand mirror, the little arcanist stuck her hand inside of it up to her elbow fishing for something. Pulling out a paper parcel, she unwrapped it to reveal a slightly compressed blueberry danish. She handed it to Salene with an apologetic look. "Oh and Mr. Mask-man-" Going up to shake hands enthusiastically with Grakana she followed up with what she wanted to ask as soon as she had met him: "-What are youuuu?!" It was now apparent that Myouga was quite a character, and that she moved at her own manic, breakneck pace. Being the tallest out of all three of them was something she'd have to get used to. Most of the time she was looking up just to see people's faces. She was so excited at having made two new friends in the same day!

It was clear the two were curious about the small masked individual that stood before them. After all, his mask was more of a helmet in the shape of a beaker, hiding any form of detail to his face along with his green skin and wobbly movements. "Grakana is Grakana," he stated obviously, "come from Shakalaka Tribe in woods. We Shakalaka believe in Way of Mask, so masks very important. All Shakalaka know mask craft." As if to show them what he meant, the small goblin began to dart away from them, disappearing for but a mere moment to where he was before the chaos started and brought back the smooth stone stretched with leather, though waddling because of the mere size and weight of the stone itself.

It was still in early works, but there was easy note on where a large mouth would have been as well as leather shards in the shapes of triangles, as if to represent teeth. "Within each Mask is spirit. Spirit of crastsman and purpose. Way of Mask lets us meld with such spirits and understand them closely." That probably explained why he thought he was the most delicious thing ever when his head was a roast and not a flask. "Legend even talk of Mask made by Gods and if Shakalaka wear it, Shakalaka can become one himself!' It was either an ultimate goal for the craftsman or a complete fairy tale… If his other tales didn't seem so farfetched in the first place!

Salene was not surprised when Myouga went off talking about who she was and what she did. If Salene ever needed enthusiasm it seemed that Myouga was practically overflowing with it. She was surprised to hear that Myouga was an arcanist. Arcanists dealt with all sorts of ceramics and porcelain. Myouga seemed way too destructive to be allowed anywhere near anything breakable, let alone pottery or ceramics. However, the cover of a book was deceiving and the title was more important. That was how the phrase went…right? Salene couldn't quite remember the entire phrase. She should have written it down. Myouga mentioned about how she caught her dog inside a snow globe. At least they wouldn't have to worry about carrying it or it going out of control again.

“Can’t imagine why it’s going so slow.” Salene muttered her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

Myouga snapped back to a cheery attitude quicker than lightning. Myouga then mentioned giving Salene a name. Great. “You can give me that nickname, but every time you use it, you must give me information” Salene said. That would hopefully dissuade Myouga from nicknaming her. Salene had already experienced nicknames like that in her travels. She had tolerated it for a while but then got real tired of it after a while. Now, anybody could give her a nickname but Salene would get something out of it. Like information. Myouga then pulled out a mirror and took out a blueberry danish. Salene’s eyes widened and her mouth began drooling.

“Gimme.” Was all that she said.

Salene took the blueberry danish and stuffed her mouth with it. The ten year old had blueberry all over her mouth and had clearly never been taught any manners when eating. The danish was delicious and Salene seemed to be fully satisfied. Salene used her sleeve to wipe her mouth, missing the corners a bit, then walked over to where Grakana was and listened. He mentioned the masks and how they worked which fascinated Salene. Her interest spiked when Grakana mentioned a mask that might be able to make him a god. That concept seemed to cause her eyes to burn with ambition for a few small moments before she returned to her monotone expression.

“Well, I hope that you are able to find that mask one day. If it exists.” Salene said to Grakana.

She herself had her own goals that somewhat reflected Grakana’s apparent goals.

“Well, I suppose you guys are headed towards somewhere important.” Salene said, “Where are you both headed next?”

She pretended as though she didn’t care, but she was awful at pretending. Salene didn’t like the thought of them leaving just yet. Myouga had been forgiven for the whole incident with the dog, especially after she gave out the danish. And Grakana seemed to be like a very interesting person. Although she still didn’t know what his species was yet. She had never heard of a species that used masks like that. When she went to the Library she would have to go and research about that. Still, she didn’t want them to leave just yet. Or at least she didn’t want them all to be separated yet. Salene would want to decide when they left. Something else that came to her mind was the fact that Myouga was a lot like a hyper puppy. A puppy was always bouncing around and that matched up with Myouga quite a bit. Grakana would be a squirrel since squirrels were very quirky and he was also a fast runner. Not to mention very small and thin. As for herself, Salene was probably a cat. Salene went over to Myouga and rested her head on Myouga’s shoulder. Now she had a head rest. She would have used Grakana but he was too short to be a proper headrest. Maybe she could use him as a pillow later. Then again he might even be too small for that. 

Sallie–as Myouga would now mentally refer Salene as, pouted and said that every time she called her that the small oni had to pay up. Myouga on the other hand had a better idea. With an impish grin, she saw how the girl enjoyed the danish and knew she too had a sweet tooth. "How about I give you a danish instead? There's plenty more where that came from~" Her magical mirror was actually a mini-portal to her pantry, which was always stocked with snacks since the arcanist couldn't cook to save her life. As Grakana began to speak more about himself, Myouga pulled out a quill and scroll with eyes shining. "Ooooh–tell me more!" This was amazing! So apparently Mr. Mask-man came from a tribe of other tiny mask-men, called the 'Shakalaka'. Masks were clearly a central aspect of their culture as it appeared their entire way of life revolved around them. Her researcher's instincts were kicking in, and she wanted to record everything before she forgot.

Grakana brought a sample of a mask in progress, and she noted the material and design. She listened carefully scribbling simultaneously as the gremlin explained the reason and concept of 'The Way of the Mask'. Masks were more than just ritual objects. They were in a way a sort of magical focus–a conduit to which the user could tap into different powers. From the way Grakana described it, he and his tribe members were all spirit mediums or shamans. Each mask only allowed them to tap into one specific skill set, and they could access knowledge they otherwise didn't have. The design of the mask was also important, as it influenced what sort of powers they would give to the wearer. Something else that the little arcanist noted was that masks made by others could in turn possess a bit of the maker's essence if a Shakalaka used it. This was all so exciting!

"Wooow! That's so cooool! That sounds a lot like a story I heard as a kid. There was this shrine in the middle of a forest and a boy was lost, and he found it. When he went in there were a bunch of masks on the wall. The next morning when his friends found him, he said there were four masks but everybody was confused. Then they told him that shrine only had three–" Realizing she was going off on a tangent, she stopped her retelling of a horror story and got back on topic. "–Anyways, that totally sounds like something from an old legend! But I think becoming a god by wearing a mask made by a god is a little much, so maybe it just allows you to borrow some of their powers for a while? Or they just possess you, same thing."  

Satisfied with her field notes for the time being, Salene asked them all where she and Grakana were going next. She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well…I did come here to get Kuroguro trained to fetch but I guess I could find something else to do. Oh, I know! The worms!" The worms. Yes, the worms. They were these horrid things the orcs used to mine out their precious minerals, and Myouga realized she had never seen one. She also wanted to see what they looked like digging underground, which meant she was thinking of sneaking into the mines 'for research'. "I heard there are these big worms Sviet uses for digging! I wanna see them work!" 

"Grakana will soon be off… FOR MORE LEATHER AND FILL!" he declared quite, loudly, holding up his beak-like mallet as if he was rallying a squad. "Grakana must also get material for dye-dyes else mask have no real feature." He was perfectly fine with making the dyes as well, seeing as he made a tranquilizer from his own head, the coloring pigment should be of no issue as well. Either way, from what he had set up, it was a big face that was going to have a large mouth and possible sharp teeth if the triangle-shaped shards of leather were any indication. Still, nothing said yet of the eyes.

When Myouga brought up the tale of the four masks, Grakana thought for a bit before quickly shouting, "CHRIIIS! That name of hum-hum in story, yes? Interrupted great festival, he did! … At least that what Grakana hear, as Grand-Shaka was babe at time."

"You want to see WORM?! But Grakana hear worm eat rock. Good rock, too. Could make good mask from rock. No, Grakana will not make Rock-Poo mask!"

To get information or to get danishes? That was the question. A question that was easily solved. Food was a struggle. Gaining information was less of a struggle.

“Fine.” Salene said, “But they better be the best danishes you’ve ever tasted.”

She listened quietly as the other two discussed the masks and Grakana. When Myouga went off on her tangent, Salene’s interest in the conversation dropped. Instead her eyes scanned their surroundings for any sign of a threat. Danger was always lurking around the next corner. Waiting for them to be off guard. Waiting to strike.

Since it was obvious that these two weren’t going to keep an eye out, it would fall onto her shoulders. The hilt of her dagger comforted her as she wrapped her hand around it. As if it provided some sort of security just by holding it. Both Myouga and Grakana seemed interested in going to see a worm. In fact, they acted as though that is what they were going to do next. Salene decided to speak up now.

“I’ll come with you then.” She said, “Somebody has to make sure that the both of you don’t get into any more trouble. But if we want to go see the worms then we’d better go to a village or something before that. It’s almost night time and we’re gonna want some sleep. You know, to see the worms properly.”

These two were probably already prepared or at least didn’t care. Salene did care about being ready. Didn’t Grakana mention something about needing leather earlier? Swinging her backpack off of her shoulder, she reached in to find leather. When she pulled out her hand there were several pieces of medium sized leather.

“I don’t know about its quality. But you mentioned you needed leather.” Salene said throwing the leather at Grakana.

The throw was casual and clearly not any sort of attack. Her backpack swung around onto her back and she started walking.

Anybody know where the nearest town or village is?” She asked. 

Myouga was so happy to finally find someone who knew what she was talking about! She liked Grakana, they were totally on the same level. And this was no surprise as they had very…interesting ways of thinking. Great minds thought alike, right? "Ooh, do you mind if I record how you make your masks? I'll just do a general summary, nothing super detailed. Or is watching masks being made taboo?" The little arcanist was well-read in the concept of 'taboo', a cultural set of restrictions that one must never violate. In general, unlike laws breaking taboo was very very bad, and a lot worse than just getting punished. A peek at the mask the little goblin-man was working on made her grin. She wondered what kind of mask it would be after it was done. What would Grakana be able to do once he put it on?

Everybody agreed on going to see the worms, which was great! Seeing things with friends was more fun than all alone! That's what parties were for, the delicious snacking kind and the campfire-huddling kind. Salene asked if they knew where the nearest village was, and Myouga raised her hand. "I know! But we're not gonna walk silly~ Here, TA-DAHHHH!!" Waving her arms, a swirling portal emerged in the fabric of space and time. On the other side was the busy streets of Sviet, the one and only place for those wishing to get a forbidden glimpse of the mining worms at work. Spinning and waving her arms, the small oni threw up some magical sparks in the air with a flourish. "Presto–portal! Whaddya think? Pretty cool huh? Huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows. For all her silliness and tomfoolery, Myouga was a very capable mage. Opening a portal like that was like snapping her fingers, easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Who needed transportation when you could open a door that led you wherever you wanted to be?

There was a delicious smell of beef kabobs wafting out from the portal, and somebody's stomach growled. "Oh, whoops! It's time for lunch." Flashing a goofy grin at the others again, she went in then stuck her head back out a few seconds after. "Hey c'mon! They just finished roasting a fresh batch of lamb and beef skewers with butter sauce!" The emphasis on the last bit was a not so subtle way of saying she wanted some, and wasn't going to wait very long to get them. So if they wanted to taste some of Sviet's local street food, they'd better hurry!

"Huh? Ah, no! Mask Make common practice not just with Shakalaka, so why be taboo?" Grakana asked back, showing that he knew tribe were not the only mask makers in existence. However, "What be taboo is for Grakana to be without mask. Way of Mask, after all, links Grakana with Mask Spirit. Without, Grakana be alone, which is big no." From everything Grakana has stated, this one… probably made the most sense. After all, when he swapped his masks, he was always sure he was covered in a smoke screen, and since he no longer wore the meat mask, he stopped talking about how delicious he was.

When Selene tossed over the leather scraps, Grakana was quick to examine them over. Probably not as big as he would need them to be, not as fine quality for the larger parts either, but at the very least they would good enough for the more minute details and sealing. Workable! It was enough for him to stash it away with the rest of the mask parts he had going.

Give Grakana moment!" he stated, dragging the loose parts into a pouch on the inside of the mask before sticking the head over his mallet, which now seemed like he had piked someone's skull, before hobbling through the portal.

Irritation burst through the ten year old’s mind as Myouga called her silly. However, she was able to calm her quick temper enough. She was impressed by the portal that the mage had conjured up. But it was not the first time that she had seen such a portal. Salene wouldn’t admit it right away, but she did want to know how to perform that spell. Her battle with her pride would determine whether or not she asked.

“The portal is….cool.” She said her desire for knowledge getting the better of her, “I want to know it.”

Perhaps the mage would teach her if Salene was able to get enough money to pay for it. After all, only people who had money got education. If Salene wanted to learn she would either have to teach herself or earn some more silver. Myouga mentioned food and how they had it on the other side. Salene didn’t know what was really on the other side but a small trust had been built between the three of them. Or at least she had slight trust in them. If Myouga really planned on harming them, she would have done it by now.

“Are you sure they will give us that food?” She asked suspicoun lingering in her eyes.

The ten year old wasn’t suspicious of Myouga but suspicious towards anyone who would offer free food up to random strangers. Grakana seemed to accept the leather pieces. They weren’t the largest but luckily they seemed good enough to be useful to him. A tiny part of her was happy about that. But she would never admit it. Taking one last look at the grassy area surrounding them, she made sure that there wasn’t anything valuable left behind. After Grakana entered the portal, Salene followed behind him. Into the unknown. As always. 

Myouga was doing a little jig as she saw the others approach. Yes, perfect! Hearing Salene's begrudging praise over her portal was good enough for the small oni. She wasn't picky when it came to compliments. Most bad stuff bounced off her like water off a duck's back, which was probably why she still liked explosions even if they backfired. "Want me to teach you? Normally people have to pay me first but I'll do it for free! I get paid enough anyways." Her salary as a professor in Iria was plenty to live off on, even with her errant spending habits. As she continued to wait for them to be next to her, she was thinking up all the amazing stuff they could do here. She'd have to watch Grakana make a mask for sure–that was the top item on her to-do list. Hearing that outsiders watching a Shakalaka making masks wasn't taboo was great! Another new entry to add to the academy's cultural archives. Nick would be so proud of her, and they could talk about what happened today in the future.

With the whole gang present, Salene wasn't so sure they'd be getting the grilled kebabs. The arcanist didn't get why she thought so, and swayed back and forth with a mildly puzzled look. "Sure, why not? Who wouldn't give you stuff after you hand them money?" Sticking her hand into her likely bottomless pockets, she fished around for coin and marched up to the stall lined with delicious steaming skewers. Her eyes were sparkling and mouth watering as the warm aroma of savory and sweet sauce wrapped around her like a fluffy scarf. The delicious smell danced around her head like sugar fairies and it was becoming harder and harder to resist stuffing her face. The orcish vendor looked up from the cast iron griddle searing chunks of sizzling meat down to the grinning girl. "Oh, didn't see you there! What can I get you, girlie?" 

With a fistful of money, she shoved it towards the man as she chimed: "One of everything please! And extra butter sauce! Wait make that two orders–two of everything you got!" Myouga could definitely finish off a whole order by herself, so she bought two of them so Grakana and Sallie could have a bite. Despite her diminutive size, she was still an oni and had the appetite–and alcohol tolerance of one. It was hard to be unhappy on an empty stomach, and feeling full after a good meal was one of the best things in life. Myouga had a simple approach to life; she worked hard and played just as much. Life was too short to fuss over little stuff so why not enjoy it while you had the chance?

The orc nodded, chuckling at her enthusiasm and went straight to work. Tossing freshly marinated chunks of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken on skewers onto the griddle there was a loud hiss as the fat and marinade made contact. Steam rose as the meat darkened, and a few quick turns had the meat cooked nice and even. With a splash of spice and generous layer of golden butter sauce, it was finger-licking good. The little arcanist's face showed that she was completely in another plane of existence, probably the Land of Chuck Roast and Tenderloin. From her bag, there was a rustling as a strange winged rabbit-deer creature popped its head out. Sniffing the air, it warbled sounds of happiness at the incoming food. It was a very silly looking chimera, like something a child would want as a stuffed toy. It was far, far cuter than the ugly mutt Myouga had detained in the snow globe. Licking its lips, it eyed the soon-to-be ready kebabs.