<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/AngeloB.jpg)</div>"Aye, aye." Said the young man at the table, as Shannon rushed in and offered some aid, his currently green eyes were somewhat annoyed, "Quite right, he should help, and he should start by moving this poor soul to a destination which will better suit his treatment needs." Angelo pointed across the room, "Somewhere over there, might I be so bold as to suggest." The young male was wearing a long and fine dark green leather cloak, gilded with golden wool at the hems, its wide hood pulled up to shade his face- even in this well-lit and warm inn- yet his cold teal eyes and fair features could be seen to the light of oil lanterns, which were hanging low on iron chains dangling from the wooden ceiling.<br/>"'Pologies, Milord." Said the older tavern maiden, her dress was strung tightly to her corset around her lush upper body, flowing down in folds of cotton from waist down, she seemed experienced in the ways of a tavern, handling the rest of the staff herself, she had a slight ring of old common Maneheim accent to her words, "tere is no free tables to be had!" the maiden leaned to Verik's side, placing the tips of her fingers in front of his mouth, "Prais' Hakete, he lives." She said with relief, pressing a wet piece of cloth to the merchant's hand.<br/>"And the nation can once again sleep soundly." Angelo snarled and narrowed his eyes at the women, "I paid good coins to be left in peace! You have no right to just use MY table as a resting stop for your charity cases!" he turned to look at the woodelf, "can you not put him to the floors? I have a strong feeling the man is accustomed to it, surely he would feel more at home."<br/><br/>A couple round tables away, an old man was sitting by the great fireplace at the center of the room, being treated with a great and sturdy old armchair, which was stuffed with a couple of cushions to better accommodate the historian's aging bones. Seated on the carpet around him was a group of eager young children, all with their backs erected and heads attentively directed to the man, much like a patch of enthusiastic little cabbages. "Old man Brock!" squeaked the older of the cabbage kids, "Go on, Old man Brock, please, tell us what happened next!"<br/>"Bah…Wher…wha…eh?" The old man shook himself out of that same state of haze old men his age are prone to occasionally sink in to, "Oh… Ye yes… Of course I will, young one, no need to be..errmm.. so impatient…yes, that's the word…where was I? Ah, yes, yes… It was more than a thousand years ago, more than twenty, so you know… before they even started scribing history down to stone or parchments, that man had yet to master the lands and the beasts and accept the graces of the gods. It was then that the mighty land of Medegasken was under the unending rule of summer, its humans being slaved by the mighty and deviously monstrous fire dragon, Fiero-"<br/>"NOOO, old master Brock!" squealed a most adorable little girl, her fiery hair was tightly braided into three thin braids, "You've already told us that part! You were just about to tell us about the white bird!"<br/>The old historian wrinkled his forehead, effectively joining his thick snowy and messy brows together, "Ah…erm…yes, yes, was only checking to see if ye all listen, lass! So, as the great fire dragon, Fiero, was about to punish the rebels of Medegasken with a deadly breath that would incinerate the land and all of its habitats- A great snowy phoenix rose from the far mountains to the north. The great Articore, the bird of ice, swooped down from her frozen territories, and on its back- old wizard Rattaka was riding with his great magical staff! The giant fire dragon was furious, he roared with unmatched anger, RRAAAAR!" The old man tried to roar at the wide eyed kids, and immediately started coughing violently, until one of the maidens rushed to him with his heated cup of tonic. "Bless you, dearie." He nodded after taking a slurpy sip off the steaming cup, before he turned back to his tensed audience, which were mostly starting to get anxious for their story-teller's general well-being, "Every last man around the land could feel how the air was getting hotter and heavier, the rivers started boiling, the humans' meager crops turned black, as the demonic dragon was about to execute his final most deadly attack!" the old man widened his eyes dramatically at the younglings, "But then! Wise old Rataka guided the ice phoenix to fly right into the great beast, and Articore dove in, razor-sharp beak first, into Fiero's furans-core of a heart! A loud explosion enveloped the skies! The world trembled as the two legendary creatures collided! Continents broke, splitting in half, parts of them being carried by the restless waves away to unknown destinations. Not one man, woman, or animal was able to remain on their feet, and mighty old trees collapsed down, giving to the powerful wave of force! Thick layers of smoke and steam covered the skies, and none knew who would emerge victorious…" He looked around at the fascinated kids, secretly smirking.<br/>"And then what?" asked the impatient little boy.<br/>"And then, as every last man, women and animal raised their heads to the skies, the smoke cleared to reveal that… the great fire dragon has gone! One by one they got to their feet and cheered, as the unbearable heat began to fade away, being replaced with the unfamiliar chilled breeze, and not only that- but the disappearance of the fire dragon made room for the clouds to return to the Madageksen skies, and for the first time in more than a thousand years, it started to rain- And not just water! But gold! Pure coins of gold from the evil dragon's hidden lair in the sky, raining down to the now freed humans of the land, marking the end of the Terrible Fiero's Summer Reign, and bringing winter back to the masses."<br/>"What about Rataka and Articore?" Asked the girl with the braids.<br/>"Aye! What happened to them?" demanded one of the boys, to the nods of his fellow tiny peers.<br/>Brock smiled widely, "why, that's a very good question, children. Since good old Rataka and his faithful Articore were so successful in getting rid of the evil dragon, the gods have rewarded them with eternal life, and they live together up the far north at the continent of Madagesken, hidden in the icy mountains of the cold approach." He said, and then he leaned in, as if to tell a secret, his low baritone was blessed with a pleasant hoarseness, which always got his listeners so very fascinated and thrilled. "But once a year, for the first three days of Winterfest, Old wizard Rataka mounts his trusty ice-pheonix, Articore, and flies down around Maridion in search of good and obedient little kids, such as you, to visit their houses while they're asleep, and sneak golden coins under their pillows."<br/>"My momma says that's hogwash." Said the impatient boy, who was the oldest of the pack, "My momma says Rataka isn't real at all! And that the parents put the candy coins under the pillows!"<br/>Old master Brock smiled calmly as he sat back in his armchair, taking another sip of his heated tonic. "Well now, I can't imagine your mother received many coins in her childhood days, then. Naughty pups don’t get visits from The Wizard."<br/><br/>Skimming through the room, Angelo noticed Mezolene sitting by her table, and he pointed at her. "Why don't you take him there?" He asked abruptly, "There's a priestess there, she can heal this poor beggar, and rid us all of his presence."