Alisa made her way down the stairs into the inn proper, glancing towards the windows. There was much to explore beyond Moonflow, and she had a full day ahead of her.
In her distracted state, she didn't look where she was going, and bumped into one of the other guests with a loud crash.
Flustered, she helped the guest up, getting a look at who she had bumped into. It was a girl in ornate plate mail, her black hair hanging in waves on the bulky shoulders of her outfit. The necklace she wore was a hand clutching a thunderbolt, marking her as a paladin of Heironeus.
Clasping the girl's hand, Alisa hoisted her back to her feet. For a moment their eyes locked, and the girl bared her teeth in an almost-snarl. Alisa's nostrils flared, catching the briefest whiff of a musky scent as she bared her own teeth, bewildered by the sudden closeness of her fellow guest.
The odd feral exchange unnerved them both, and they backed away from each other, blinking.
"S-sorry," Alisa stammered, finding her bearings. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. You new too? I'm Renee."
"I'm Alisa. Yeah, I just got here last night."
"Cool. Yeah, the party was my first night too. Drank too much, you?"
"Yeah, sad to say."
"Hey, I'm gonna go explore the woods. They say there's ruins there, you wanna go?"
"That sounds neat. I'd love to."
With a shared smile, the two of them began their trek beyond the town's borders. This time the woods didn't feel quite so forboding to Alisa as she walked in them. Maybe it was the companionship, or maybe she was just more at ease after the previous night.
Slowly, the path they were following grew fainter and fainter. After awhile, they lost it entirely. Stopping, they decided what to do.