After his burning throat finally managed to push enough air through it, Learin took a que from Larea and plopped onto the ground with a thud. It seemed that while he and their mute waitress were too exhausted to even stand, the other three were in high spirits; even Riu, surprisingly. Maybe he shouldn't have doubted the boy's physical capabilities, too, but at least he was quick on his feet and his wit. He looked up at the tall, imposing ahketan man as he spoke, a frown forming on his face afterwards. All the man did was try and get that innkeeper's dumb heirloom, and now he ended it making it his problem too.<br/><br/>"Sod that innkeeper's stupid amulet," he responded, "This is something he should've done himself, now you're the one paying for it."<br/><br/>While he didn't know the man well enough at all, and was somewhat terrified of his appearance, he couldn't help but pity the man. Though, he should've kept his money in a safer place than out in the open on his person; especially while chasing after a thief, no less. After he went off to vent for a moment, he came back giving the scholar a proposition, the same one he had yesterday.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">"Scholar, may I travel with you for a short amount of time?"</span></span><br/><br/>Attempting to keep his bewilderment as brief as possible, the exasperated researcher sorted out this whole situation internally. The man clearly stated his athletic capability, considering how quickly he darted after the scarlet harlot. And just...<span style="font-style: italic">look at him.</span>He's the picture of health, enough to probably suplex a boulder or twelve. Despite his scary, burly appearance, it seems that he's not one quick to anger, considering how he managed to keep his composure over losing all of his money. He is also one of the many people involved in this "contract" with the lavender landsknecht.<span style="font-style: italic">Why am I attracting all these strange people?</span>he mentally sighed,<span style="font-style: italic">Then again, I'm one to talk... but this is totally all Sigrun's fault.</span><br/><br/>The stressed professor rubbed the area between his his lenses, "Despite how sudden the offer was... I'll say I have no reason to deny it if there's nothing to lose and everything to gain." He paused to turn his gaze to the giant once more, "Although, might I ask what your name is, first? I am Learin Ethail."<br/><br/>He didn't feel like giving another test, unlike what he did with Riu, since... well, at first glance, the man clearly seems more capable than a young boy for going on an important spiritual mission like this one.<br/><br/>Sigrun, meanwhile, was busy almost falling over the edge to try and catch sight of the crimson vixen. Aside from Learin, there was no sign of red along the cliff side. When it quickly proved to be a pointless endeavor, she intended to pick herself up to bring her tin can self back to the group. However, something gave her pause; a strange, ringing sensation seemed to echo out through her being. This unexpected surge caused her to lose her footing for a moment, but she quickly dug her gauntlets into the ridge to keep herself from falling. It was a little difficult to bring herself up, as the armor added onto the already present and very evident gravity that persists throughout everyday life. For the knight to stop being almost vertical and return to being on solid ground, she dug her slightly pointed greaves into the dirt and used her legs to drag herself to solid ground; almost like a worm going in reverse.<br/><br/>Sigrun fell backwards as she managed to right herself to be parallel to the ground. However, the strange ringing sound occurred again, almost as if something were trying to get her attention. She tried looking around, but there was nothing in that direction, and her four masters made no sign of reacting to it either. It almost sounded like a voice, but it was impossible to understand what they were trying to communicate to her.<br/><br/>"Master Learin," she spoke in her usual droning tone as she approached the group.<br/><br/>"What is it, Sigrun?" the man spoke in an annoyed tone, clearly just snippy from multiple people asking for something only a few seconds after eachother.<br/><br/>"I feel like someone's trying to say something. It's hard to really tell, something like 'Ewe,' 'Cucumber,' and..."<br/><br/>Learin's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "We were talking about something, but it had nothing to do with fauna nor vegetables."<br/><br/>"It wasn't from you," she turned away to point toward the direction of the lake, "It's over there. Also, they could be talking about a sea cucumber, in which case they'd both be fauna."<br/><br/>The scholar adjusted his glasses and blinked twice at Sigrun's words, "From the lake?"<br/><br/>She nods, "You said to always tell you if I felt anything foreign to me, and I think this qualifies within those specifications."<br/><br/>The man seemed to juggle the whole situation in his brain awhile, a flood of "Maybe," "But..." and "Hmmms," escaping his lips before his face seemed to light up, his vitality seemingly restored as he sprung to his feet. He turned around to the other three, addressing them with similar enthusiasm.<br/><br/>"I apologize if this comes off as sudden, but... might we return here after we go back to the inn? I need to grab something out of my bag; we may have discovered something big and I absolutely need to have it," he paused for a moment to consider how everyone else might feel on the situation, "Well, I suppose you don't need to come, but I figured you might want to witness something history-making."