"Every riddle always has an answer–sometimes even two! If a riddle does not have an answer, then it is not a riddle at all, rather a trick, or perhaps simply a question posed to get one thinking! Riddles make you think too, but questions like those don't have answers, but they certainly have a lot of theories." She pressed the edge of the tea back to her lips and tilted it back for another small sip. When the cup was drawn down again, she released a satisfied sigh and spread her fingers a little further across the surface of the nice warm tea-cup. Her lifted foot had shifted back down to one of the stool rungs and tucked itself behind the ankle of her other leg. "Unsolvable riddles simply do not exist!"

"Adeluna as my home? Oh, goodness, no! Adeluna is far from my home–well, not too far; my actual home is somewhere a little away from here, a very small and unnoticeable place that seems to act more as an adventurer's rest-stop than it does an actual village. The City of Adeluna simply seems like a safe place to me! I came here originally for the books in all their libraries, but then I got curious and left to go see Virens Forest. After an incident in Virens Forest with a bunch of trolls, I returned here to rest up and restock in hopes that I could reach the Plains of Bohar and poke around a little bit–well, didn't work out too well after I kept running out of rations before I reached my destination. I do know a spell for the creation of a small meal, but.. Well, I like to save my strength for if and whenever I get accosted by some ghastly beasties. A full belly is nice and all, but it's definitely not going to help me against some giant.. dirt-worm or something! Who knows what's out there these days."

As Ryspar's voice fell in a hush, Claribel leaned closer to him to better hear what he had to say; her bright eyes were wide and attentive as she gazed up at him, her tea-cup still gripped gingerly within both her hands. Whether she had a sense of personal bubbles or not was unclear. "Looking for someone? Looking for who? Maybe I've seen her! I like to think I've seen plenty of people with all the time I spent in this town–even if most of that time was spent in the libraries rather than here or on the streets. Anyways! Who is she? Or, well, was she, in the case that she might actually be gone from this world. Oh, another goal! Ryspar, what might this second goal of yours be? Hearing about goals and dreams is always so exciting. What do other people yearn for? What do they strive for? Such fascinating questions to ask oneself."

Ryspar had to disagree about riddles having answers. It seemed the whole point of most riddles were to trick or confuse people. They were trick questions and it made sense to him to have some without any answers. But she seemed convinced otherwise so he wasn't going to argue with her.

He listened as she spoke (quite a bit) about Adeluna, taking sips of his water. She mentioned the places he did not know again but this time, they sounded much more dangerous. To encounter trolls and not make a fuss about it… She was a very interesting girl. Still quite cute, Ryspar had to admit. He almost wanted to offer to travel with her but he was certain that was a bad idea. He wasn't quite sure why it was bad but it was.

"Do you not know how to gather, hunt and cook on the road, then?" he asked as she spoke about running out of food. "I could perhaps teach you, if you do not know. Or find a book that can teach you what you need to know." He took another sip of his water. "Or perhaps a guide would be better for you. A seasoned traveler to assist you so you can go where you wish without worrying as much about supplies or…trolls." He didn't mean himself. Mostly. But he would be able to find a decent guide for her if needed. Of course, if she wanted him to go along with her, well, he wouldn't refuse.

Ryspar didn't quite know why he was telling her as much as he was. Maybe the loneliness was getting to him and he just wanted someone to know. As Claribel suggested that she'd met his mother, his expression turned far more sad and he looked away. "No. You have not. And I am very glad you have not met her," he replied. He spoke the truth. If she had met his mother, chances were she'd be dead or disfigured.

He was shocked that she asked about his second goal and as he looked back at her, he noticed how close she had leaned. Should he tell her? It might be a mistake but it also might help him to share part of himself. "I'm afraid my goal is not as exciting as you make it out to be. It is purely selfish. I wish for a family. A wife and someday children. It is a small dream but it is all I've ever wanted." Again, his eyes carried that loneliness, the heaviness he felt without anyone by his side.

Claribel pulled back and shifted her gaze back down towards her book. She set her cup of tea upon the counter–a little ways from her book, just in case, mind you–and lifted the now-damp cloths from them. Just a little water damage (or ale damage, in this case), but all would be well with just a little more ink to cover up what was lost! She pulled an inkwell and quill from the backpack leaning against her stool, uncapping the ink and dipping the tip of the quill within it. With a nod to show she was still listening, she began to very carefully write back over the stained page from both memory and what was still there. It was almost like connect-the-dots.

Her writing slowed a little bit when it came to be her turn to answer, else she might've ended up writing out exactly what she was saying, rather than a simple agility spell. "I do know how to gather and cook, yes, yes I do. It's simply that sometimes you come to places where there is no food to gather, and thus no food to cook if you've run out of food to cook before. So, that leaves one little choice but to turn back to civilization to restock and come back, only to run out and have to go back and do it all over again! Perhaps I should be saving my provisions for those fruitless places and gather when I'm in the areas where food isn't scarce…" Claribel made a little mental note to do just that; hopefully her stores wouldn't spoil by the time she reached the halfway point to her destination, wherever that would be. Like the Duchy of Egjora! That was a ship's ride away, though; no gathering out there, she reckoned. Unless she got a fishing pole. Oooh, fishing…

Right! Talking, talking. "A traveling partner would be quite nice, indeed! Though, they usually have very different ideas than I do, or they just get caught up in other things to the point where I have to leave, bid them goodbye. Very sad thing, really. Sometimes. Well, most of the times, in my case. Besides, I'd rather not bother anyone with my silly little adventures! I'm sure these people've much more important things to do," she said with a light wave of her hand towards the rest of the tavern. Ahh yes, drunken men stumbling this way and that, women beating them at card games and other fun bets, a few people passed out under the tables. Rowdy people with drinking and gambling on the mind; yes, surely they had more important things to do. "I'm too small of a girl for them to worry about, surely!"

She considered asking him about the woman he was referring to, seeing as how he sounded (and looked, when she glanced his way just briefly) more sad at the further mention, but she thought against it for his sake. At the mention of family, she once more looked up from her re-scribing work and looked over to him fully with a cock of her head to one side. "A family! Well, I think that's just a marvelous dream for near any person! There are many people out there who carry the same sentiment, though it seems you feel especially strongly about it; it's rather admirable, really! Have you not already found a nice girl to settle down with, Ryspar? I don't imagine it would be very hard at all for you to draw a woman in. Look at those eyes! They hold so much emotion, compared to the eyes of most men in this very room. They make you look handsome, indeed they do."

Again, her eyes fell to her book to make sure she hadn't written anything she didn't mean to or dragged her quill right across the paper. Aaaand.. Nope! All safe! She kept on inking the page back to full health if and when he replied to her, though she kept almost all her attentions upon him.

Ryspar was rather surprised to see Claribel suddenly begin to re-write the damaged pages of the book.  Impressed by it as well.  She was a very interesting person.  She seemed naive and innocent but she was more resourceful than she seemed and was better at not letting the small things get to her.  She was just a happier person than Ryspar.  He envied her.  He also liked her, though he had virtually no hope. He was certain that someone like him would never appeal to her. 

"And hunting?  Do you know how to hunt? It often feeds me when nothing else is available," he suggested softly, partly not wanting to interrupt her writing.  He couldn't stop himself from watching, rather mesmerized by it. Ryspar's heart sank as she motioned to literally everyone in the tavern except him.  He wasn't even an option? "I see," he replied. "When others have different goals, it must be difficult to travel together. I suppose you could hire someone. There are always guides who make their living in such a way. Or perhaps a friend." Why couldn't it be him? He knew it to be unwise but he had to ask.  If there was some problem about him that she found impossible, he needed to address it if he had any hope of marrying anyone in the future. "And what about me? I have no plans and no traveling goals. Would you be unwilling to have me along to help you travel further?" He took in a breath, steeling himself for whatever she might say.  

Unfortunately, the next topic was worse. Even though he had brought it up, it was clearly a mistake as she asked if he hadn't already married. He hung his head, closed his eyes, and tried not to remember the way his wife's corpse had looked when he found her.  He took several deep breaths, steadying himself. She didn't know, of course.  She hadn't meant any harm by asking.  But surely if he said he was looking, that meant he hadn't anyone in his life.  "I was married.  Once.  My wife was murdered. It's been many years since then. I miss her, of course, but I know I must move on. She loved me as I her and she would want my happiness." He glanced back at Claribel, then to her book. "You are quite good at that," he murmured,  referring to her rewriting the contents of the book. "It seems you are far more than initially meets the eye.  I apologize for judging you before talking to you. You are truly impressive and I am glad we were able to have this conversation." 

"I feel I could throw a fireball at an animal and have it burn pretty nicely, yes–but that would also be cruel and thus only done under dire circumstances, such as me not having any food left in my pack but plenty of game around me," Claribel said with a satisfied nod. "However, with bow and arrow or dagger or what have you? I don't. Keeping my hands unbloodied is my personal preference, else things just get messy."

"Oh, no–I'd hate to have someone pay for me! So many things can go wrong with those types of.. What would you call them.. Mercenaries? Is that the word? I just don't know if I could trust someone with my life just because I gave them a good pocket of silver. Aaand, my friends all left me before! The friends who were able, at least. Like I said, different ideas, different desires. I would bring along my lovely friend from childhood if she weren't too young to be venturing out into the world." She lifted the tip of her quill from the page and looked beneath her hand to examine her writing. Once she was sure it was near perfect and not smudged, she set to continue scribing what was lost.

Once more, she paused in her writing to turn her gaze up to him. "You? Well, I didn't think to ask you! I figured you might not like having to escort a woman around the world just to have her stare at trees and statues in deep appraisal or inspection before simply going right back to safe civilization. If that sounds appealing to you, then I don't have any problem with you coming along! The more the merrier, as they always say." A soft smile lit her expression, a light and carefree thing, but then it fell away into a worried, near-horrified expression with his confession and her next spoken words.

"Murdered? Dear, oh my! That must have been truly devastating; I can't imagine how you must have been feeling then and all this time. I'm sorry for bringing up something so sensitive." The young woman dabbed the tip of her quill off on one of the cloths and set it aside. Once her hands were free, she tucked them in her lap–she just simply could not pick up the quill again in that moment. With his shift in topic, however, she did her best to neutralize her outward worry, yet it still remained in the softest furrow of her brows and the slight downward turn of her lips.

"Am I?" she asked in response to both his comment on her scribing efforts as well as his second comment on her being more than meets the eye. "You don't need to apologize for that! Everyone judges everyone even if they don't mean to; it's only natural! Thank you for first talking to me, by the way; it's a quite brave thing in my eyes, even if it's a very little thing indeed, starting up conversation. Is your hair still wet from the ale? If I can't find a towel anywhere, I might be able to use a little spell to dry you off. Maybe there's a spell to make someone or something smell pretty.." Oooh, that would be awfully nice indeed.

This girl certainly preferred to resort to magic at every chance, didn't she? Ryspar quirked an eyebrow as she spoke of incinerating her prey. Not quite what he'd meant but effective if you didn't mind charred food. Were there not spells to fire an arrow into a target? Or some less…combustible way to kill prey? He could understand her wanting to keep herself unsullied. That made sense, at least. And if she were to travel with someone else, that person could do the hunting for her. Like him.

Ryspar nodded slightly. He preferred not to pay strangers for his safety. Couldn't always trust them. Well, apparently he was quite far from her mind when it came to traveling. Until he suggested himself. Still, she didn't refuse him. "Well, if you have no objections, I would not mind escorting you when you travel. I know how to hunt and fish and can often read the weather if a storm is coming. I know nothing of the area and just seeing the sights might be enjoyable." And perhaps he could help her, protect her, or even befriend her.

"It is fine. You did not know. I am sorry I am still unable to talk calmly about it." Some people felt he should just move on and somehow magically not grieve over her any longer. Or at least make it seem that he did not have his own baggage from the ordeal. He was confident that she wouldn't be the sort to fault him but it was his nature to apologize first.

Brave? For speaking to her? He didn't quite see it that way but he said nothing. He raised a hand to feel his hair as she asked. It was still damp (and worse, getting slightly sticky and oily) so he nodded. "A bit damp, yes. But don't worry about finding a towel or using a spell. I can wash it easily once I get a room," he assured her. Which reminded him that he did indeed need to find a place to stay for the night. "Besides, if there was such a smell, it might react poorly with the ale causing me to stink instead of smell nice," he said with a soft chuckle.